Isla sora:My island survival Part I
by 21gloverboy
Summary: Synopsis: It is time somebody outdid Eric Kirby's eight week stay on the island of the dinosaurs. And that would be me. With danger on every side, will I survive? or will a raptor pack end my life?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 **Arrival to Sorna**

 **:**

 **Josiah's POV-**

"Excuse me, senor."

A man looked up and saw me approaching.

"What can I do for you, amigo?"

"Is this your boat?"

"Yes, senor. I'm the captain. Let me introduce myself. Enrique Pantaros.

We both shook hands. My palms were sweaty from tension that was building up in my stomach. I had journeyed to Costa Rica from Canada during my summer time in June. It had taken a lot of time and patients, but finally, I had enough money to go to Costa Rica. The reason? Isla Sorna. The island with the dinosaurs. I knew it was dangerous to go there but it was my dream to go to that island see real-life dinosaurs. Ever since the T-Rex attack in San Diego

four years ago, I was hooked into going to that island and seeing those dinosaurs for myself.

And now here I was in Costa Rica, with my survival pack, readying myself to go to the very island that was illegal to go to. But I was going to take that chance. The rush and excitement of going to that island with those dinosaurs was risk I was willing to take. Dinosaurs were my life as well as reading survival books and watching 'Survivor Man' every chance I got.

"Josiah Clover. Is this the underground Isla Sorna boat tours?"

"Si, senor. None of the Costa Rican government know about the tours expect for a few of us and myself. Ever since that Kirby kid got himself lost on the island four months ago, the island's restrictions have been doubled. Now, we can't even get so much as a small aeroplane or copter near the place. It's bullshit."

I nodded in agreement there. Ever since Eric Kirby had been rescued from the island four months ago, he was hailed as an Oklahoma celebrity. And for what? Just for surviving for eight weeks on an island full of dinosaurs? He was only 12 when he was on that island. I was 24. I could survive the island just like him, no problem. If he could survive it then so could I.

"I agree with you that it is bullshit, senor, but that's not why I came here."

I explained to Enrique that I planed to stay for nine weeks on the island. When he heard this he backed away from me like I had wort on my face.

"You can not be serious, senor?! Nine weeks on that hellhole? With those animals?"

"I'll be fine, Enrique. I can look after myself on that island, Okay?"

"But how will you get back to the mainland? How will you communicate in case you are in trouble? How..."

"Enrique, calm down! I have it all figured out, alright? I read Alan Grant's book and Eric Kirby's book about the island and know how to survive it and the dinosaurs. First, I read in Ian Malcolm's book, that the island has a facility that has geothermal power running. And since the power never needed replenishing, it still works to this day. When my nine weeks are up, I'll radio you on the mainland and you can come and get me, alright?"

Enrique still didn't look so sure.

"Look, senor, nobody who has been near or on the island has survived. Two boats last year had already vanished because some of my Amigos got careless and have not been seen since. But if you say you can do it, senor Clover, then hop in my boat and I will take you to island."

I smiled and picked up my pack.

"Thank you, senor."

It took a while to reach Isla Sorna by boat but Enrique said that it was the fastest way to get there. I sat down, having a good view of the ocean.

Some people would say that this was suicide while others would say that this was crazy. But I was confident. With my camcorder and journal I would write down what was happening to me on the island. John Hammond, the man who had created Jurassic Park, once said that the animals needed our absence, not protection. Bah! Tell that to the underground Dino-Sour Tour boats that took people to the island. That Kirby kid only got stranded on the island because he had gotten too close to the island and had gotten his friend killed. But would not be me.

"Amigo, we're there," called Enrique.

I looked up to see the island right in the distance.

"Wow,"

"now remember, senor," called Enrique. "you have nine weeks to radio me back on the mainland. If not, you'll have to call help same other way.'

I nodded. As we got closer to the island, Enrique went down to the cabin. A few minutes later, he came back up with several powerful-looking weapons.

He handed me a rifle with ten magazines and a pack of gas grenades.

"Here," he said, "the two cases of gas grenades should keep you safe. And you'll need a raft to get to shore. I can't get any closer, senor."

I nodded in understanding and got inside the raft. I gave Enrique one last wave goodbye and started the motor of the raft. This was it. I was doing it. I was going to be on Isla Sorna and for nine weeks.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **Spies in the Jungle**

 **:**

 **Josiah's POV-**

I had finally arrived on Isla Sorna's beach. And without incident, I might add. Now the only thing left to do was to read the map and follow the shore to the path that would lead me to the worker village.

I checked the map over and once i had found the way, picked up my stuff and started walking down the beach to my left. I left the raft where it was on the beach. There was no use in carrying the damned thing all the way to the village.

An hour passed until finally I reached the path into the jungle that would lead me to the Site B village. But I was hesitant at first. I didn't know what was going to encounter in there. I looked behind me to see the ocean and the small dot that was Enrique's boat.

Taking a deep breath, I took my first step into the Jungles of Isla Sorna.

Boy, did I regret it! The first thing that met me in the jungle were the bugs. Big-damn flies and mosquitoes that flew into my face and ears! God! Its was horrible. I only wished that I had gotten some bug spray at the mainland. But I knew that it would have been a bad idea. I knew dinosaurs could scent for miles and would probably pickup on the smell of my spray in minutes and come running. Aside from the bugs, the jungle was alive with noises that people have never heard before. Birds and frogs sang to their hearts content as insects chirp and trill.

I shook my head and listened again. Wait a minute. Did insects trill and chirp? That's when the bushes to my left rustled and the chirping came again and I stood back, waiting for whatever was going to come out of the bush.

I watched the bushes just as a single compsognathus jumped out, making me take a step back. I knew what this dinosaur was the moment I saw it's small, green form leap from the bush. They were mostly scavengers but when they got a chance at something that's not with a group (like a human or a cornered medium sized dinosaur) they would go for it. They were like piranha with legs.

I had read in Eric's book that these guys were dangerous as a pack and would follow targeted prey until it tired from a wound or got separated. In the book, compies had a creative attack tactic for their small size; the alpha would appear first and confront the victim, who is surrounded by the other compies before he/she knows they were coming. While the prey is interacting with the Alpha, or ignoring it, the others would eventually spring and attack the victim, usually overwhelming it.

If this was the alpha, then where was the rest of the pack lurking? I got my answer.

Seven more compies appeared around my ankles, leaping and chirping at me to get my attention. I didn't know what these little guys wanted but I did not have any food on me right now.

 **Compie Alpha POV-**

I couldn't believe it. A human was here on the island. And it was alone, apparently. This was a good opportunity. A lone human couldn't stand a chance with all of us attacking at once. I ordered the pack to surround the him and appear cute and harmless. Humans were fools when it came to our kind. They let their guard down easily, thinking that we were mere scavengers.

The human didn't seem to be fooled by our harmless appearance. He was backing away up the jungle path. We couldn't risk letting this prey getting away.

"ATTACK!" I screeched to my pack.

We rushed him, chasing him down the path into deeper parts of the jungle. Sooner or later he would fall and stumble and then we would have him!

 **Josiah's POV-**

That was close. The compies had surrounded me and took me by surprise. I had backed away but the alpha had screeched at the others in it's pack to attack me. I had turned and ran deeper into the jungle, away from the compies. Hopefully, I would outrun them long enough so that they would get tired and give up chasing me.

It didn't take long for me to lose them ones I started running downhill. The chirping and squeaking had stopped and soon I had completely lost them. And myself.

Unbeknownst to me, two pairs of eyes were watching me from the brush on a hill. Eyes that belonged to two raptors.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **Watching and waiting**

 **:**

* * *

two pairs of amber eyes stared through the bushes as the human moved through the jungle, heading toward the direction of the abandoned human village. Quietly as to not scare the human, two raptors followed after him, watching his every move.

Terias, and Tholestes did not like the looks of this. Why was there a human on the island?

 **Tholestes POV-**

"This is serious, Terias. Why is there a human on the island?"

Terias only shook his head and cleaned his claws, licking away the blood from their last meal. Humans weren't anything special to him. But he had heard stories about how humans had kept our kind in cages and those were long gone now.

But still, even if this human was on the island, he was alone but still armed with a weapon. It was best just to watch him from a safe distance, for now.

 **Terias POV-**

"I don't know what the big deal is. It's just a human, big brother. If your worried, we can go back to the nests and tell Phaganax about it."

Tholestes shook his head and growled, "Phaganax will wonder why we didn't attack this human right on the spot. no. We will watch him until he reaches the village. Besides, it will be dark soon and I don't want to be around when the spitters come out."

My big brother was right, though. Phaganax made the rules of the pack ever since his mother had giving him the position. He also had deep dislike for humans, among other things. And always thought that the stories he had heard about them were just stories. But now there was a real-life human on the island. If he was alone, then killing him would be a whole lot easier.

"So, what do we do?" I ask.

"Nothing, for now, little brother," says Tholestes. "that human is heading for the abandoned human village and it is not far from where our territory is. Lets head back to the nests, now."

we turn and head back through the dense jungle to where our home his.

 **Josiah's POV-**

Losing the compies had forced me run downhill, making me perspire a lot of sweat. And the bad news was that I had to walk uphill to the worker village now! Damned compies! I would have used my rifle on them but that would have been a waste of bullets. Now I was hot and sweaty under my clothes! I just know dirt and grime will build-up after that!

And what was worse is that it was beginning to grow dark. The jungle would soon be cloaked in darkness and that meant I would have to use my flashlight to see. And I didn't even have enough batteries.

Soon, after another hour of walking, the jungle opened up and I was met with breathtaking sight. Before me was an open plain with several different kinds of dinosaurs. There were Triceratops, a herd of yellow coloured dinosaurs, and my all-time favourite; the _Brachiosaurus._

And there, right across the clearing, was the road that would take me to the worker village. I was almost there.

After checking the map to see how many more miles it would take to get to the village, I cautiously stepped out into the plains.

So far no dinosaurs were bothered by my presence. A few looked up from their grazing but then went right back to eating. The Brachiosaurs above me didn't even see me. Typical. Nothing frightened them.

I was half-way across the field when I heard a thunderous roar come from the jungle to the right near a grove of trees. I knew what that roar was and what it belonged to. And my blood froze.

 **Tyra's POV-**

My targets were in range. I had spied a small one. A tender little morsel that would keep me full for a week.

Three-horns were tough and dangerous to hunt, but the meat was nice and fresh. As a tyrannosaur myself, I took pride in never letting my prey get away from me.

Once the young three-horn was as far from it's mother as possible, I let out a roar that shook the air and lunged straight toward my targeted prey! The baby three-horn didn't have time to react to my attack. It had turned to run but it was too late. I brought my head down and snatched the baby three-horn in my mighty jaws. The frantic baby three-horn let out a squeal of fright and of pain, alerting the adults to it's cries.

But even they knew it was too late to save the infant. But that didn't stop the alpha male from trying. He charged forward, intending to drive me away from the rest of the herd.

I turned and fled back into the jungle, the squealing infant three-horn still clutched in my teeth. I ended it's cries by biting down on it's body, hearing the cracking of bones in my jaws. The squealing ceased and the infant lay dead where it hung.

Now to head back to my nest and eat. The day was ending and soon the sail-back would be out hunting.

 **Josiah's POV-**

I could not believe what I just saw. A T-Rex had come out of nowhere and had grabbed a young triceratops near the edge of the jungle. The alpha male triceratops tried to save the baby, but it was too late. The Rex had fled into the jungle with the baby still in it's jaws. I heard it's squealing for another minute until it was cut off by the sounds of cracking bones.

I shivered. The attack had happened so fast that the herd didn't have time to react.

I knew this was the way of the island, but still...seeing a baby dinosaur killed like that...

I shook my head to clear my mind of the horrible thought. This was not human or humane world were rules applied to the dinosaurs. It was eat or be eaten. And I planed on not being eaten.

I made my way over to the road that would lead me to the worker village and continued to hike uphill. The sun was beginning to set and I really had to hurry. The sudden attack of the tyrannosaur had put me on edge as it is and I could not afford to waste any more time with sight-seeing.

After five more minutes of walking, I had finally reached my destination. There was the wall to the worker village and beyond that was shelter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **The village**

 **:**

 **Josiah's POV-**

I climbed on top of an overturned INGEN vehicle and then over the wall and into the village. Once I was on the ground, I scanned the area to have my first look at the island's worker village.

The place looked like the jungle was reclaiming most parts of the village. Cars and trucks were upended and smashed in parking lots and several smaller bungalows and building were still standing. The concrete sidewalks were cracked and broken from years of negligence and vines and weeds poked out of them.

The hurricane that had hit here must have been ferocious, because everywhere things were smashed, broken, and upended. Huge root systems snaked through the street, making it almost impassable for me to get through.

But now that I was in the village itself, it was time to find a building to in for the night. The sun had set and the village was growing darker by the minute.

I had to pick a building to stay in, and fast.

I scanned the streets and found one building that was still intact.

It was a church. Or something that looked like a church. The building was once white and now it looked like it seriously needed a new paint job. The paint that was on it now was peeling off and there was green moss and fungus growing alongside the building. The roof looked as if it was caved in and the bell tower's bell was gone. All-in-all, it looked sturdy enough to stay in.

I walked up the steps and through the double doors. A large, jagged hole was in the middle of the floor. The air was damp and smelled like an animal had been using the place as it's bathroom.

I walked up another pair of stairs and into a hall that had other rooms. To my left was a staircase that led to the second floor and to my right were the other rooms. I entered an office and looked around. A black desk and chair were the only things in there so i left the office alone. The rest of the first floor was pretty much empty, aside from the abandoned weapons that were left behind. The windows were crusted up and blurry which made it hard to see outside them. But I could tell that it was now dark outside the church.

I went back to the double doors and locked them. It came to me that this place was going to be my home for nine weeks. I had made decision to stay here. Right now, it felt like home, and I decided I was staying.

 **Tholestes POV-**

The human had settled in the village. From the wall I could see that the human's old worker village was still standing, even after all these years.

Phaganax had given me orders, when me and Terias had gone back to the nests, to watch the human and see what he'd do. The rest of the pack were all on the edge, too.

The young chicks, on the other hand, were curious about the arrival of a human.

I felt tired and wanted to sleep. The night had come and the jungle behind me came to life with noise. I knew the pack would start their night hunts without me so that meant I would have to go hungry tonight.

I don't know why Phaganax wanted this human alive, anyway. He disliked humans but something about this one made him change his mind. Why, I didn't know.

Even though I was suppose to watch the human, my stomach said otherwise. I was hungry and tired. Watching the human inside the white building was going to take all night.

But going against Phaganax's orders was something I was not keen on doing right at that moment. Despite my hunger, I stayed where I was. There was no point in leaving now that night had come.

 **Josiah's POV-**

It was nighttime now. I was dreading this part of my stay here on the island. The nights.

But this was no time to be afraid of the dark. I was fine with dark, it was the things that lurked in the dark that made the hairs on my neck prickle. Going to sleep here in this church was my only option, for now. Tomorrow, I start my nine weeks here.

By 10:57 I was still wide-awake. The sounds of the jungle outside really got me spooked. Even though I was in the attic of the church, and had made myself comfortable, the sounds of the sounds of the jungle outside did nothing for beauty sleep. But what can you do?

'sigh' this was going to be a long bloody night!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Encounters**

 **:**

 **Josiah's POV-**

I woke up with a sore neck and an aching back. I did not sleep well that night inside the church. The stupid animal noises from outside had kept me up all night.

I felt weak, so I forced myself to eat some breakfast.

I had to plan my day. Figure out where the communication radios were hidden.

After eating, I got my rifle and went outside the church. The sun was up and I felt energized by the feeling of it's warmth. But, also cautious. I knew for a fact that the village was still hiding unknown dangers. For all I knew, a raptor could be watching me and I wouldn't even know it.

But I needed the fresh air and plus, finding the radios that I would use to call for help for when my nine weeks were over.

I walked around the village for most of the day, while keeping my rifle armed and ready for use. I took this chance to explore around the empty buildings and old gas stations. I was surprised that this island was ones a booming place. Too bad that the hurricane had wiped out the INGEN facilities here. This would have still been a great second island to visit. Oh, well,

I finally found the operations building and went inside. The place was old and here, the jungle was reclaiming the building. A geothermal power supply to help power the island must have been turned on and still running in the place because I saw, on one of overhead lights, that lights were one.

Whoa! What a break. I didn't know that geothermal power was still running in this building. And if it was running, then the radios were also running. To the left side of the gate outside was some sort of pipeline leading into the jungle, presumably for the geothermal power. Near the lobby, there was a door leading to a communications room. I walked Inside and there were tables with radios, computers, etc on them. Despite being covered in grime and plant growth, the equipment still worked when I turned them on. Yes! This place had power. No, I had the power!

Eric Kirby was a fool not to explore more of the island. That little kid was too afraid to hike across the island to this place. Ha! Well, beat that, Mr. Kirby!

The kid may have survived on this island, but knew nothing about this place or the geothermal power that ran it.

Now I had everything I needed to survive.

I returned to the church and tried to see if I had power there. At first, it didn't work. Then I slapped myself upside the head and said, 'DOH' and headed outside the church. There had to be a power-box for the old building somewhere alongside the walls.

I found it and, after removing a bunch of spiders from the inside, flipped the switches and went back inside to see if I had gotten anything.

The room lights to the offices were flickering on and off while some did not turn on at all.

The attic lights were on but, since it was day, I turned them off for later. No sense in wasting electricity. The kitchen was next and I saw that the stoves were on. Lucky me. Now I could cook my meals without having to use a fire-pit.

The hydro was another thing I had to work on during the day. When I read Eric's book about him taking baths in the stream...hell no! I had to find the pump that would allow water to stream inside the taps in the church. I looked and I looked but could not find the damned pumps. "Lousy idiot!" I said to myself, rolling my eyes. The pump was probably in the basement of the church.

I looked for the door that led to the basement and when I found it, I went down the flight of stairs to the bottom. The basement was dark but I used my flashlight to shed some light. The basement was dank and the smell of wet pipes filled my nose. Wait a minute. Wet pipes was a good sign that the pump was probably down here.

It didn't take long for me to find them. The pumps looked like they had turned off. So turning them back on was what I had to do. The knobs were a bit rusted so turning them was a hassle. When the knobs turned on, the pipes made a groaning sound that could be heard above on the ceiling. That was a good sound.

I went back upstairs and to the kitchen to try the tap. Before I tried it I crossed my fingers. I turned the knob.

At first, nothing happened. Then water came out, dirty at first, but changed to clear and clean the next. I went upstairs and tried the bathroom. The tub and shower worked, but not the knobs for temperatures. But I was fine with that for now. The important thing was I had water.

"Well, you did it, Clover," I said to myself with a broad smile. "you have water and electricity. Unlike Eric, you everything to survive on this island. Weapons, food, water, and a shelter with electricity that will last you for nine weeks."

 **Tholestes POV-**

When I got back to my nesting area, I joined my brother, sister, and uncle. I watched them rip apart the carcass of a dead Iguanodon. I joined them as they started to feast on the large animal.

"So, big brother," Terias said, licking his scaly lips and eyeing me. "how's that human doing?"

I ignored him and continued to feed. I was hungry and I did not care if Phaganax got made with me for deserting my post at the village. Boy, did I regret leaving.

A low hiss came from behind me and I turned to face...Phaganax. The large alpha male stood a foot higher then me and my uncle but I was a fair-bit taller then him. The alpha markings alongside his back and neck made him stand out from the rest of the pack. But his eyes, red and stern, drove into mine like a pair of rubies.

"What are you doing back here, Tholestes?" he barked. "You were suppose to stay at the worker village and keep an eye on that human!"

"But I was hungry, alpha Phaganax, and tired from the night." I squawked back, lowering my neck quills in submission. "Besides, the human is not going anywhere. He's staying in the village."

Phaganax only growled, "Good. But that does not excuse you for deserting your post, young-one. After your done eating, go back to the village and confront the human. See if he will have fear in his eyes from the sight of one of us."

I tilted my head and asked, "Why?"

Phaganax narrowed his eyes and said, "So that he will know who are the real rulers on this island."

 **Josiah's POV-**

The rest of the day was pretty much boring. cleaning up the church was an easy task. When INGEN had cleared out, they had left a lot of stuff behind. Soap that was still in it's packing and dish soap and some half-empty containers of gasoline. Probably for vehicles.

The afternoon glare of the sun was still high in the sky so being out of the church gave me some time to search around the depot station. The old thing looked like it had once been a fuelling station for large trucks. Inside the garage was a lone standard INGEN safari vehicle. Aside from the muddy hood and flat tires, the vehicle looked like it could still run. It seemed possible. The vehicle was in a garage all this time and since the door of the garage was closed for all these years, it made sense that the vehicle could run.

I checked the interior of the car and found the four spare tires that would be perfect to replace the the deflated ones. I searched around the vehicle and found a 'JACK' to lift the car.

This would break the boredom for the remainder of the day. I would fix-up the car and use it to get around the island's roads. It would take all day and a better half of tomorrow, if it didn't take too long to fix, but it would work. I had a little bit of experience working with small cars in my mechanics class, so fixing up the vehicle should be a simple job.

The first thing I needed were tools to do this. The 'Jack' I already had so looking around the outside of the garage was the place I could look.

I walked around the station and was about to walk into the store when I saw a raptor sitting on the large empty cargo truck's roof less then four yards away.

A raptor.

I froze.

It had been only two days since my arrival here and nothing had happened-that I started acting like nothing would.

The raptor hissed and leaped into the air and onto the hood of the truck. It's red reptilian eyes studying me with mild curiosity.

 **Tholestes POV-**

I wasn't going to harm him, but he didn't know that. I had leaped down the on the trucks hood and then I leaped down on the ground. The human backed away. I walked up, boldly staring down the human with my steady gaze.

He didn't have a weapon on him so taking him down would be all too easy. The human was shaking with fright. I bet he was also pissing himself, too.

But my curiosity about this human made me tilt my head to one side as well. I didn't know why I had to scare him. I could smell the fear on him but I wasn't going to hurt him. I clicked softly to him, and cooed like I would to comfort a chick. Maybe it would work. Maybe I could somehow prove that I didn't want to hurt him.

But the human didn't seem convinced by my innocent act. How was I going to convince him I wasn't going to hurt him? Maybe I can make him understand.

I approached him slowly and arched my head foreword to sniff him, my snout pressing against the side of his head and neck. I felt him shudder but I continued to sniff him.

 **Josiah's POV-**

The raptor had approached me and had started to sniff me, it's snout touching my cheek and neck. It had made some chirping cooing sounds to me but I wasn't fooled by it's act.

I tried to back away again but my back was right against the station's wall. I shuddered as the animal's scaly snout brushed my chest. Then it moved to my pelvis area. I did not like that so I pushed it away like a disobedient dog. There was no way that it was sniffing there.

The raptor gave me an irritated snort and went right back to sniffing me. But it wasn't my midsection he was sniffing at this time, but my pocket were my candy bar was.

I dug in my pocket and brought it out. The raptor sniffed at it and, with one swift movement, snatched the candy bar from the palm of my hand. It held the bar in it's talons and started to eat it. It finished it in two bites, licking it's lips after it was finished.

I almost smiled in relief that I was not going to be on this raptors menu. I decided that maybe it was best to give him the other candy bar. I took it out of my other pocket and handed him it.

The raptor took it, looked at me for another second, and then turned and dashed away into the jungle.

My legs gave out from under me and I collapsed right there where I had stood.

Man alive! What next?!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Change of heart**

:

 **Tholestes POV-**

I returned to the pack after my encounter with the human. The taste of the candy bar was still in my mouth and on my tongue.

That human was different then the keepers Phaganax had told me and the pack about. Sure, he had come onto our island, but I was sure he meant no harm.

Phaganax would say differently, of course. I didn't blame him. Humans had kept him and his mother once in cages when he was just a hatchling. But when the hurricane came to the island and the humans were forced to evacuate, the raptors were released from their cagey prison and were set free to nurture on their own. But not before Phaganax's mother was killed by a keeper. From that day on, Phaganax had kept his grudge about humans ever since.

I didn't want to think about it anymore. I had to report back to the nest.

Once I got back, Phaganax asked me about the human.

"Did he fear you?"

"Yes, he did, Alpha Phaganax. I could smell it on him."

He snorted with satisfaction.

"That's good to hear, Tholestes. Good work."

Then his tone grew serious. I knew that tone all too well.

"Tholestes, I just got word from one of our scouts on the edge of our territory boundaries. The black-stripe pack has been stealing our prey and marking the game trails with their disgusting scent. Only today I saw one of them trying to scent-mark the trail. It was a good thing that your grandfather was there to chase him away and re-scent the trail's boundaries."

I growled a bit at hearing about the black-stripe pack. They were our pack's enemy and rival for territory here on the island. Aside from the other packs, they were different from us. They were orange-red in colour but had a black- striped pattern along their backs, neck, and tails. They weren't smarter then our pack but were stranger when using teamwork. They lived in the long grass away from the worker village but would sometimes use our game trails to hunt. It was infuriating.

"What is to be done, Alpha?" I asked.

Phaganax brushed his snout with a claw and said, "For now, we should worry about that human. He maybe an intruder here, but he is our prey, not theirs. I want you to go back to the worker village and scent mark the boundaries of it. We can't afford to have that pack steal our prey."

I nodded and went to my nest to try and get some rest. My brother and sister were there waiting for me. It made me smile knowing my little sister, Fern, was with Terias and my grandfather.

"Hey, big brother, how did your day go?"

I smiled at her and rubbed my snout against her cheek. I loved it when she called me 'big brother'.

"Fine, little sis'." I said. "but bad news; Phaganax wants me to go back to the worker village and scent-mark the place. So I won't be here at for a while, okay?"

Fern gave me a sad chirp and turned away. I hated when she did this. Her eyes would get all big and there would be a lilt in her voice and then oh, gods, here would come the tears. It was part of her charm, the biter.

"Big brother, you said you would be home before and now your leaving again? It's not fair"

I sighed and nuzzled her under her chin.

"Hey, come on, little sis'. Phaganax has given me an important task to do right now... "

"With that human, I bet." she said. "couldn't I come with you, please? I've never seen a human up-close before. Please?"

I knew that this was going to happen. My little sis' was curious about that human since the day she found out about it. She's been begging me to take her with me. But I knew for a fact that my little sister's curiosity was also a danger. And that she couldn't stalk through the jungle without making noise.

Through she was no longer a hacthling, she was still young. But maybe I could make a little exception.

"Alright, little sis', I'll take you with me. But you have to do as I tell you, understood?"

Fern's face lit up and she nuzzled me against my chest, smiling.

"I will, big brother, I will!" she chirped.

I smiled and we both set off to the worker village. I had forgotten that I needed my rest.

 **Josiah's POV-**

The brush with the raptor had shaken me but I was determined to get the jeep fixed and ready to roll. I had been careless. It had been my fault. I did not have my weapon with me when I had been outside the garage and that had been idiotic.

I had to make a promise to myself that I would never go anywhere without my rifle again. My nine weeks on this island depended on me being careful and not foolhardy.

I decided not to think about it anymore and went back to work on the jeep. Aside from the flat tires, that need to be replaced, the jeep looked like it would run. I checked the engine under the hood and found a loose electric battery cable. I connected that to the positive terminal and then closed the hood.

Using the 'jack', I replaced the old tires with the new ones. The two back tires needed to be pumped so I did that job next.

The pump station's pump was useless so I had to use the hands-on one to get the tires inflated. This was tiring and the sun behind jungle was beginning to set, casting a reddish hue in the sky. But I worked anyway.

Finally, after hours of finger-numbing work, the tires were pumped. The small safari jeep was finally done.

To celebrate, I ate in the church's kitchen. Right after I had my shower. Oh, lord, was I exhausted. The hot afternoon sun had made me build-up a lot perspiration and grime under my clothes. I took a nice long shower and changed into some new clothes. The watermelon-scented shampoo felt nice and it made me smell a whole lot nicer, too.

After my dinner I went outside again to check the jeep. The interior was dusty and one of the seats looked like it had been chewed on.

But would she start?

I climbed into the driver seat and searched for the spare keys. And, of course like in the movies, they were in the flap above my head. They were little rusted but I tried them anyway.

Turing the keys, I detected the engine sputter to life. The steady hum of the jeep coming to and it filled me hope.

"Okay, let's see what you got, baby."

I knew that driving a jeep was totally different then driving a go-kart at Canada's Wonderland, but it was the same basic principle.

Driving this jeep wasn't as bad as it looked. The gas peddle worked and so did the break. And since the jeep's steering wheel was never touched by erosion, this baby worked like a charm.

Now I had transportation to get around the island.

Eric Kirby, eat your heart out!

 **Tholestes POV-**

Fern and I arrived at the worker village a little late. The sun was going down and I really didn't want to be out here at night. Because night was when the Ghost-eyes would come out. And I really did not want to deal with them, especially with my little sister by my side.

But the boundaries of the worker village had to be marked with my scent so that no black-stripe raptor pack members would come anywhere near here.

As I mark the boundaries around the concrete wall outside the village, my sister had perched herself on the wall's top and watched the human working on one of the metal-rolling-things that it's kind called a 'car'.

By the time I was done, the surrounding jungle was already growing dark. This meant that my sister and I would not be returning to the nest.

I knew Terias would worry but not that much. Grandfather, on the other claw, would worry. He was a cautious and worrisome old raptor who's old age had not been kind to him at all during his years in the pack. Despite this, he still had his teeth and claws.

 **Josiah's POV-**

My raptor had come back and this time he'd brought a friend along with him. The second raptor was a bit smaller then my raptor and I guessed that this one was probably female. The pale cream color of her scales and dark patches around her neck, back and tail gave her a similar appearance to the other female raptors in their pack.

The female raptor watched me with curiosity, just like my raptor, and seemed more at ease seeing a human for the first time. But I still kept a weary eye on them both. Just because my raptor had not eaten me, did not mean that I was letting my guard down twice in one day.

The jungle had grown dark so I guess that meant I was turning in early. The truth was I was dead tired. The job on the jeep had left me beat and I really wanted to sleep.

Putting the jeep back into the garage, I got my rile and walked back to the church, while also keeping an eye on the two raptors, who were busy talking to one another.

As I watched them, I felt that Dr. Grant was right about their intelligence. These guys were smart. Smarter then whales or dolphins...smarter then even...primates.

It sent a shiver down my spine that INGEN would create creatures smarter then ordinary primates. These animals, should they ever get off the island, would be the dominate species on this planet.

I shook the thought from my head and turned to away from the raptors, walking up the steps and into my church. I barricaded the door and checked the windows to make sure they were secured. Two raptors was enough for one day and I was not taking any chances with the two of them outside.

 **Tholestes POV-**

The human had retreated inside the large white building and had closed the doors, followed by other noises inside. I guess the human was turning in for the night. Fern yawned and so did I. I was just as tired from being on my feet all day as she was.

But we could not go back to the nest right now. The haunting, shrieking sound of the ghost-eyes had caught my sister's attention and she was frightened.

Even though she had never even seen a ghost-eye, the story of their kind chilled her.

So there was nothing to do but stay in the village nightlong. Until dawn, my sister and I would have to sleep somewhere in the village. But where?

The human's white building would have to do, for now.

But when we got there, the human had barricaded the door inside.

The air out here was cold, even for a tropical island. And my little sister, unlike me, had not develop any neck feathers to stay warm.

I scratched at the door to let the human know that I was there. I didn't know if he would let us in or not. I knew that he was still cautious of us and that letting us in with him was something he would not do.

"Bother," Fern whimpered, "I'm cold. Can't we just break into the building?"

I shook my head.

"The human still has a weapon on him and he might shoot at us if we just burst down the door to where lives. I'll keep trying to get him to answer."

I let out a call from outside and then a chirping sound.

I heard movement from inside and the door opened a crack to show the human's face.

 **Josiah's POV-**

As soon as I saw my raptor outside my door, I almost screamed and slammed the door in it's face. But then I calmed down. The animal had not harmed me in anyway and we had both kept our distance from each other. But to let him and his pack mate in the church with me...

I moved the heavy office desks out of the way and opened the door. My raptor and it's pack mate walked past me and entered the church's foyer, it's tail brushing my shoulder. I closed the door and barricaded it again. Not that I trusted the two not to kill me in my sleep or anything, but I really did not want my raptor to make so much noise anymore. Even though I had my firearm slung over my shoulder I did not guarantee that it would work against two raptors.

But the two of them settled themselves on the floor next to the doors, keeping their eyes on me and my rifle.

Yawning, I backed up to the stairs and was about to go up the ladder to the attic, when my raptor suddenly made a chirping sound to me. I was dumbfounded by this and turned to face him.

Was he thanking me?

After everything that had happened to me on this island, including the way the dinosaurs usually acted, this just didn't make sense.

I bowed my head slightly, nodding in appreciation of my hospitality and went up stairs to the attic.

 **Tholestes POV-**

I couldn't believe it. The human had let us inside the building with him. As we walked passed him, my tail brushed against his shoulder. My sister and I were tired and so we decided to sleep where we were. As my sister curled up next to me, I turned to the human and chirped to him, thanking him for letting us sleep in the building with him. He stopped and looked puzzled by this but nodded slightly in return. I knew that gesture well and as soon as the human was out of sight, I curled next to my sister, closed my eyes and slept. I knew that establishing trust with this human was important and that the survival of the human was also equally important. But could the human trust us? And if so, could we trust him?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **Clues to communication**

 **:**

 **Josiah's POV-**

A crash woke me that morning. At least, I thought it was a crash. Being on the island, with no one to talk to for days, had made the line between things that were real and fake pretty thin. I felt a bit jumpy and on edge.

I didn't go right away to check out the crash that woke me. I waited for minute or two before i went to check out what made that noise.

After a minute, I went downstairs to the foyer to check up on my 'guests'.

When I didn't see them in the entrance hall, I felt a small wave of panic hit the back of my skull.

But then I calmed. My raptor, if he had wanted to, could of made that noise trying to get out of the church. Or it could have been his pack mate.

Then that's when I saw them. Inside the kitchen, I saw one the two raptors clanging and banging stuff. I almost chuckled halfheartedly as I saw the younger female raptor tossing it's head, trying to get rid of the pot on it's head.

I laughed and started to relax. In a way, I was kind of grateful for wake up call. And I knew a way of making the little raptor happy-by getting that pot off it's head.

It took some persuading for the older raptor to let me help her out. The pot had rusted over the years on the island and had become small and crooked. No wander the poor thing had got it's head stuck.

Carefully, I took the pot with both hands and gently removed the rusted old thing off the raptor's head. As soon as it was off, the raptor shook her head to to get rid of the rusted bits and dust. I looked at her jaws and noticed a bit of blood stained there. At first, I thought it was her blood from the sharp edges of the pot, but then relaxed when I saw a tail of a rat danging out from between her teeth.

I also noticed that the the kitchen was a total mess. Especially the wooden floorboards.

I shook my head and decided that maybe it was best if these guys didn't stay here in the church any longer then they needed to.

I went over to the door and removed the barricade. After letting the two raptors out I went back to the kitchen to clean-up the mess they both made.

'Sigh' wild animals. They leave such a mess.

As I cleaned the kitchen, I noticed that the floorboard next to my feet was flipped upward, like a secret compartment.

I knelt down on my knees and reached in to see what was inside. My fingers fumbled around until I felt something on my fingers that felt like a cover of a small book. Grasping my fingers around it, I picked it up and took it out of the floorboard.

Looking at it, I saw that it was a book that had a latex band around it. The paper was a bit yellowed from being under the floorboards all this time, but it was still in good condition.

I tucked the book into my back pocket and resumed cleaning up the kitchen for the rest of the morning.

Whatever was in this book must be something really essential for one of the 'INGEN' employees to hide it in a church kitchen.

After cleaning the kitchen, I was ready to find out what was in the book. I got breakfast and sat down upstairs in my room to read.

The book, I soon realized, was actually a journal containing information about Sorna and Nublar. And it also had information about a project that the scientists had been keeping secret, even from Hammond. According to the journal, the group of scientists had been working on a device that would allow a human to communicate with animals.

I shook my head in disbelief.

"No way!" I said out loud to myself.

I kept on reading. This was impossible. Humans couldn't talk to animals. But these scientists had built something that could. There was even a small map to where I could find it. This was heavy. A device that could allow a human to communicate with animals. Far-out! This could be what I could to use to talk to the raptors.

But was it real?

I kept turning pages. Two were stuck together. I went back to them and gently peeled them apart. Some idiot had dropped relish on them.

Reading the two pages, I found plans and designs for the communication device. It was an electrical device that fitted onto a person's ear, like a hearing-aide that old folks use to improve their hearing. If this thing did exist

somewhere on the island, then finding it was what I was going to do.

I looked over the map again and found out that only two prototype communication devices had been made. The location of the devices were at a safe house situated along the outer fringe of the island. Looking again, I saw that the trail I would have to take by walking would take at least two hours. But, by car...

It was a risk I would have to take.

If I wanted to talk to these raptors here on the island, then going to the safe house was my destination.

Time to get to work.

 **Tholestes POV-**

It was nice to be outside the building after sleeping soundly in it. My little sister had gotten a good nights sleep after several nights of unrest back in the nest. The night noises and squawks from the other raptors had not been much help on her beauty sleep.

When we both returned to the nest, Phaganax was waiting for me to report.

"Ahh, Tholestes, your back. I was getting worried."

That was a laugh. Phaganax never worried about other pack members other then his alpha female, Kara.

I put on a mendacious sort of smile and said, "glad to be back,"

He smiled and turned to Kara, who had the same female raptor coloration as my sister but had a moon-shaped dark patch on her flank. That patch was what Phaganax liked about her and why he had chosen her as his mate.

Excusing myself, I went over to my grandfather to have a word with him.

I explained why me and Fern were not at the nest last and why we had to spend the night in the worker village. I left out the part about us sleeping inside a building with the human. Or that the human had helped Fern get a pot off her head after chasing a rat. That would have been embarrassing.

 **Josiah's POV-**

I packed my rifle and food into the jeep, which I had parked outside the church, and also the journal with the map. I could not forget that. And just in case, a fresh gasoline tank for the jeep's tank. After following the map with my finger and making sure the church was properly barred from any dinosaur getting in, I climbed into the driver's seat and drove out of the worker village's boundaries.

The jeep trail was old and the jungle itself was heavy with branches that slapped at the sides of the vehicle. On top of that, the road was bumpy. My ass was not going to forgive me for this.

As I drove, I made sure I was following the right road to the outer outskirts of the island. Map reading for me was a bit difficult. It wasn't one of my strong points in high school.

A couple of minutes on the road and soon I arrived to a narrow stretch of trails that forked in different directions. Checking the map, it said I had to go left. Well, left it was.

A minute later, a Medium-sized herd of Apatosaurus came into view. But the animals were blocking the road! Man-alive! I did need this. And what's worse was that they were all wandering around the trail. Some were eating while others fed on low-growing plants that grew alongside the road.

Each dinosaurs was 15 feet tall and 45 feet long. The scales were colored with darker grayish markings on their back. I remembered that Apatosaurus belonged to the Diplodocidae family, and the infraorder Sauropoda. This dinosaur was the second most common sauropod in the Morrison Formation. Apatosaurus also had much more stockier legs, and overall, was a much more robust animal than other Diplodocids.

While they fed, I decided to read more in the journal. I found a paragraph that seemed interesting and started to read:

 _The second report from I.N.G.E.N military experiment facility._ _Agent Name: Rob._ _Rob: I have successfully infiltrated Sorna under the guise as a researcher as planned. I have encountered no information_ _regarding top secret development of new-type of invention, but I have discovered there is an unexpected individual at this facility. The woman, is Dr. Kirk, the leading authority of our_ _I.N.G.E.N energy research. Dr. Kirk was alleged to have died in an accident during the course of an experiment 2 years ago. Reports were premature and it appears that she is currently working as the head of an I.N.G.E.N non-weapon project at this facility. The experiment is in the late stages of development. Dr. Kirk proposes the ultimate source of animal communication...Government rejects financial support...Laboratory closes...Tragic disaster: Dr Kirk deceased on Sorna following an accident during an experiment._

I stopped reading and closed the journal. This was serious stuff. INGEN must have poured all it's money into making something that could allow a human to understand dinosaurs. But this Dr. Kirk person must have been desperate to have wanted her invention to be a success. And what accident did this journal mean? How did she die?

To pass the time some more I got out of the jeep to have a closer look at the Apatosaurs. I had to be careful, though. These guys could accidentally step on me if I did not look where I was going.

The sauropods didn't even respond to me getting out of the jeep at all. A few of the sub-adults turned their heads in my direction but paid little attention to me. Taking out my camcorder, I walked-up to the closest animal. Since there were hardly any human visitors on the island, the animal didn't feel threatened by my presence. Even the mothers with babies were relaxed. But if they felt I was threatening their young, they would not hesitate to trample me to death.

Sidestepping to the closest animal, I reached out to pat it on the leg. The surface of the scales felt pebble-like. And the surprising thing was that the animal was warm. I never realized that these guys were warm.

Slowly, the Apatosaur I was petting noticed me. I studied it from the corner of my vision, watching it raise it's head to look at me.

'Grrrrumpppllff?' the dinosaur grunted.

I waved at it and continued to pet it's leg. A close-up shot was needed for acknowledgement sake so got my camera out and started video taping. The animal leaned over me to take a closer at me and my camcorder.

The damp smell of the dinosaur's breath reminded me of a horse's breath; Hay-like with just a hint of smelly fish.

Lowering my camcorder, I reached out and patted the dinosaur's broad snout.

The animal seemed placid by this and let out a guttural snort, spraying me with dino-snot.

I recoiled backward and landed on my butt. Eww. The stuff had gotten onto my camcorder. Cleaning the lens with the hem of my jacket sleeve, I rubbed the snot off.

After that, I got other close-up shots of the rest of the herd. I couldn't wait to show this to Alan Grant. Genetically engineered theme-park monsters, my ass! I'd show him a thing or too about these animals. I still remembered when Grant was at the school talking about raptors and other species. Following the Nublar incident, Grant returned to paleontology, despite lack of public interest due to the incident in San Diego. It was this lack of interest in paleontology that was slowly but surely killing the guy's profession, prompting him to go from university to university in an usually vain attempt to gain funding. At this point, Grant had decided the dinosaurs created by InGen were but cheap imitations, "genetically engineered theme-park monsters," and he attempted to convince others of this with limited success.

How could he? Most the students in the universities were not convinced that the island and the dinosaurs were dangerous. Some even said that once the U.N and costa rican government knew how to control this island, scientists and animal behaviorists would just come down here themselves.

Yeah, like that was ever going to happen.

Another minute and soon the herd had moved off into the brush to the open field, leaving the road to the safe house clear.

Sitting myself back into the driver's seat, I started the jeep and continued the drive up road to my destination.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **You can understand me?**

 **:**

 **Josiah's POV-**

if only Sarah Harding was here to see this. The video images I had taken would be just one of the great stuff I would be getting out of this.

The communication device for me to understand the dinosaurs was what would make this all worth-while.

That is...if it worked.

The herd had moved on and so I continued my journey to the safe house.

Finally, I drove 'round a bend and arrived at the safe house.

The small building was surrounded by a fifteen-foot high fence and looked like ferns and branches had overgrown around the place.

The building itself was near the edge of a hill that overlooked the valley.

Stopping in front the closed gate, I got out of the car and walked over to the fence. Since the power over here had been off for years, there was danger in getting electrocuted.

The gate, though, was locked. No problem there. The gap in the gate was wide enough for me squeeze through so that's what I did. Once inside the fence, I walked over to the door to the safe house and tried the knob. It turned easily so I opened the door and went inside.

The place looked like it once was a safe house. There was rust all along the windows and the air was damp. What little light I could see in the room didn't hide on how messy the place was. There were boxes and cases of scattered about and the jungle look as if it too wanted reclaim the place. The white walls, floors, and ceilings were covered in dirt and moss.

Of course, the light didn't work so I didn't bother turning them on.

Now, to find the communication device.

I took out the journal and read through the page that had the whereabouts of where the device was hidden.

 _'I hid the translator hearing-ad device behind a picture with a human and raptor fighting...'_

Okay, so where was the picture? The walls were dirty and the moss had pretty much covered some paintings in this place.

But I had to be patient.

I looked down at the journal again and read...

' _The picture is located in the stall of the bathroom...a concealed safe has a combination lock...'_

I went to the bathroom and found the picture on the wall. Reaching up, I took the frame down and saw that, much to my annoyance, that it was indeed a combination lock. I did not like these kinds of locks. No matter. All I needed was the numbers for the combination.

The journal must have the numbers I'm looking for so I flipped some the pages to see if the numbers were there. This was bullshit. Where were the damned numbers?!

The journal pages that were left were blank. God, can't women learn how to make things easier for men?!

A minute passed and I was getting pissed. This journal was not helping me find the damned numbers! Flipping pages and getting nothing was starting to get on my nerves.

I went back to the room and sat down on one of the chairs. There had to be a way to get inside the safe. At first I thought about using my rifle to blow the lock off but that wouldn't work. That would only waste my ammo and the gunshot alone would be too loud. Plus, the bullet would ricochet off the safe and hit me.

So what could I do? Before I lost my mind and went crazy, I decided to use my head for once and see if there was any hints in the journal that I might have overlooked.

I checked and double checked and then finally I found something. The numbers were right there the whole time. The journal's page numbers.

The numbers themselves weren't right because they were on the lowermost part of the pages.

Going back to the bathroom, I held the journal in one hand and worked the safe combination with the other.

Okay, time to work.

7, 5, 6, 50, 32, and 12. ' _CLICK_ '

I opened the door and looked inside the safe. Inside was a case that was rather small. I sure hope this would this was it. I reach inside and took out the case and opened it. Inside were two hearing-aid-like devises. Pale grey in colour, they resembled hearing-aids alright. But did they actually work?

I went noticed a small note that was on top of the translators. Opening it, I found instructions on how to work them.

 _(Step 1) place the translators on each of your ears and fit them firmly._

 _(Step 2) to amplify and modulate the device, press the two small buttons above the red button._

 _(Step 3) The translator sits behind the pinna with the connection from the case coming down the front into the ear. When an animal growls, roars, or snorts, it will come out as human words. This device will help you, dear user, to understand the language of the animals._

 _Good luck. (PS) you might get a slight earache after a while of wearing it in your ears._

Well, what did I have to lose? I took each of the translators in each hand and placed them on my ear. Right behind the pinna like the note said. Just like a **BTE** hearing-aid, it fit perfectly. The case was connected to a plastic ear mould by a clear tube that wrapped 'round the top of my ear. Good thing I didn't have a hearing loss.

Now that the hearing-aids were on my ears, it was time to test them out.

Leaving the safe-house, I drove back to the herd of diplodocus. They were now spread out and were still eating. _Jeez,_ didn't these guys ever stop eating?

I got out of the jeep and made my way over to the nearest animal. Looking up, I noticed that while it ate, it trumpeted to the other members off it's herd.

This was it. The moment of truth. Using my index fingers, I reached up toward my hearing-aids and pressed the small buttons.

At first, nothing happened. Then, quit suddenly, there was an ear-splitting ring in my ear that caused me shout in pain. I clutched at my head and got down on my knees and tried to block-out the ring. Earache my ass!

A moment passed with the ringing until finally, much to my relief, it stopped all entirely.

I hear normally again. Only this time, I could hear other noises. Not just noises. But voices. Human voices.

Looking up toward the diplodocus, I could see that some of them were milled around me in a wide cluster.

Were the voices coming from...them?

Getting up off my knees, I stood up and looked at the animals and hoped one of them would speak.

But I knew better then to get a reaction from an animal with a small brain.

So I turned left for my jeep.

"What was that human doing mother?"

"I don't know,"

"What's it doing here?

I stopped in my tracks and turned slowly around, to stare at the animals.

I know I did not just imagine or heard that.

The dinosaurs had spoken. And not in dinosaur, but human.

Their bellows had become human words! Their roars had become human words! And now I could understand them!

I could understand the dinosaurs!

While driving back to the village, I felt excitement build-up inside me like never before. I had the chance of communicating with dinosaurs on the island. Even the raptors. The raptors. Hey! Now that I had the power to understand them, I had a chance to talk to them. They would talk back and then...well, anything could happen.

When I arrived back at my church the sun had begun to set. After parking in the garage, I walked over to the church and removed the barricade to get inside.

Now that the sun was setting, I guess it was time for some shuteye. I didn't eat anything when I had come back. I was too excited.

Hopefully, tomorrow, I would have a chance to understand my raptor's language.

 **Tholestes POV-**

Night had fallen in the nesting grounds and most of the pack had fallen to sleep or had gone night-hunting.

Fern was sleeping soundly beside grandfather and my brother was up with me. Terias wasn't as tired as my sister. He often went on night-hunts with some of the pack but not tonight.

His mind was somewhere else. He often did this sometimes. He would let his mind wonder until he would go to the nest to sleep. It was odd though. I bet I knew what he was thinking about. He was thinking about the mainland.

I rolled my eyes at that. This island was our home, our only home. Humans ruled the mainland and pretty much the rest of the world. This island was all he and the rest of pack had.

Sleep was also not possible for me. The human was still was on my mind. Using raptor body language to communicate with him wasn't enough. If he could understand raptor language then maybe I could talk to him better. And then ask questions about his kind and where he came from. But that would never happen. Humans couldn't under stand animals, let alone a raptor.

Yawning, I turned and walked back to my nest to sleep. My brother soon joined me, laying down beside to keep warm. I too laid my head down and closed my eyes and slept.

 **Mainland-Costa Rica**

Rain fell in drenching sheets near the docks on the mainland, wetting everything in sight.

Somewhere inside a restaurant, four individuals sat at a table together.

Eddie Campbell, Rita Clarence, Hector Delgado, and Greg Ganwick, a Biosyn employee.

All four of them were waiting for Greg's contact to arrive to their location.

So far, they had been patient. But now they're getting inpatient for the guy to arrive.

Eddie, who was the leader, sat with his other two team schoolmates, who also were wearing the same clothes he was. Each of them wore dark green Cargo pants and dark brown-green t-shirts. Except for Greg, the three looked like they were ready for the outdoors.

Eddie wore a x-large Cargo t-shirt with dark patches in and around it and Cargo pants that were also dark green.

Hector wore a faded green t-shirt and even darker green Cargo pants.

Rita wore a short-sleeved short that was faded and showed her mid-drift along with the same dark green Cargo pants with leg pockets. On her head, she wore a white-blue cap with a red band.

Greg, on the other hand, did not sport any of these. He wore a long-sleeved, blue button-up shirt, a grey vest with an INGEN identification card pinned to it, and dark blue office pants.

Adjusting his glasses, Greg looked at his watch on his wrist and grumbled under his breath. His contact was suppose to be here minutes ago. But a half hour had gone by. His contact was an agent who worked for the Costa Rican government. But in reality, he secretly worked for Biosyn.

Following the Kirby incident on Isla Sorna, INGEN, on the verge of complete bankruptcy, signed an agreement with the Costa Rican military to further strengthen the security around Los Cinco Muertes, having five Naval and Air Force bases each surrounding the Five Deaths island chain to ensure the dinosaurs inhabiting the islands never escaped and made it to any mainland and that no intruders would ever set foot again.

But now the security around the island had weakened thanks to the INGEN board no longer supporting the Costa Rican government. At first, there were protests, stating that now that security around the island had been weakened, people would try to go onto the islands again.

But INGEN would not yield to this and said that it's the Costa Rican government's problem now, not theirs.

And so, the military around the islands had weakened but no intruders dared to trespass onto the island themselves, for fear of getting killed by it's inhabitants.

This was a break that Biosyn was looking for. Now that security around the islands had weakened, all Biosyn had to do was wait for their chance to get back onto the island and exploit it.

And their chance came when Lewis Dodgson had approached INGEN with an idea to fix their bankruptcy.

His idea was met with mixed results from most of the staff though. They didn't want any part of the guy's little plans to get rich by exploiting the island. Too many people had died from going to that island and Dodgson was nearly booted out of INGEN for it.

That was until he was approached by Greg and a deal was made. He would go down to Enid Oklahoma as an undercover journalist and question students at the Waller Junior High school about Eric's survival on the island. Of course, none of the students wanted to give Greg any answers because they respected the Kirby's privacy. Eric had become a celebrity at his school but had refused to talk to any of his schoolmates, even Eddie, about his experience on the island.

But Eddie Campbell took the opportunity to talk to Greg about Eric and had sat dawn to speak with him. Eddie had told him everything he could and when Greg had offered Eddie a chance to go down to Costa Rica and go to Isla Sorna, Eddie jumped at the chance to do it. Provided that two of his high school classmates came with him.

Greg agreed reluctantly and a deal was made. When the summer holidays had started, each of the students asked for their parents permission. Wanting to have some time to themselves, the parents from each student reluctantly said yes. Greg and Dodgson paid for their flights down to Costa Rica and had provided the four with information on what was going to happen. At first, it mattered to Eddie that they were not going to get stuck on the island and get eaten by dinosaurs. Greg reassured them that they would be on and off the island before any of the island's security would know.

The Costa Rican Department, on the other hand, would not let any small planes go near the island, so Greg had to come up with another plan. After calling Dodgson and informing him about the situation, Greg was told that a contact was coming to help them get onto the island. But he was not expecting the weather to turn sour. Where the hell was his contact?!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 **Getting to know you**

:

 **Josiah's POV-**

Morning had come but the rain had not stopped. Even over night, I could hear the spatter and dribbles of the rain as it poured down. The church was leaking in several places, including the entrance hall. The attic was water proof, save for a few wet spots, and the kitchen windows downstairs were also leaking in some places, but not too bad.

I spent the morning patching the windows and making sure that no droplets came through the cracks. My raptor had not come back yet and I was getting worried, and also anxious. I really wanted to understand the language of the raptors here on the island. And who better to start to understand then a raptor that trusted me.

Trust may not be the appropriate word for it, but still, it was better to have a raptor that was easygoing around me then a vicious one that would sooner see me dead then alive.

After fixing the kitchen to prevent more leaks, I went back to the garage to make sure the jeep was not getting wet.

As I put the canvas over the roof, I thought back about the origins of Jurassic park.

The mysterious John Hammond. A Shady investor, multimillionaire, and a jovial mad scientist. Ha, that was a laugh. Hammond couldn't have been a mad scientist. He was good man. He brought all of this to life and turned it into reality for not only adults, but for children.

Of course, Site B was not to be a theme park, but a research station. This was where Hammond and his team did the real work. planning to conquer time's power over life, it's power to extinguish and erase. They spared no expense, and permitted no failures in what they were doing.

In eleven months, Site B became the most powerful genetics facility in the world. This I read from the journal, course. It was interesting to know.

In the journal it said that In eleven months, Site B had become the most powerful genetics facility in the world.

Well, that didn't last very long. In the journal, it said that Hammond had gone bankrupt. When it became known that the old man was belly-up, workers simply dropped their tools and walked away…all the way to the docks of the island and waited to be picked up. Buildings were stripped of everything valuable. Weapons, food, technological stuff.

I sighed and went back to the church to read more in the journal.

I wanted to know more about what occurred here on the island.

Getting a snack and sitting down on my sleeping bag, I read what else was in this little book.

 _'October 1996. The INGEN Corporation is taken out of hammond's hands by a vote of the board of directors… his nephew has now taken over. I don't know what his intentions are, but I know they are not good...'_

 _'The_ _ _hunters landed__ _on_ _ _May 13, 1997__ _,_ _ _deep__ _in the_ _ _island's southwest__ _._ _ _Most__ _of_ _ _them had worked__ _at Hammond's_ _ _African parks__ _for_ _ _years__ _._ _ _They never stood__ _a_ _ _chance against the animals...'__

 _'_ _The hunters scattered, their planned hunting routes neglected. Only a third of their numbers had appeared at the rendezvous point where Ludlow and his team were gathered...'_

This must of taken place during the Isla Sorna incident. I remember now. On TV, the crew of the 'Venture' had brought back a t-rex from from this island and then it went on a rampage through San Diego like a monster. The TV footage showed massive damage to cars, buses, and general stores and Ludlow had been responsible for the whole thing.

Taking dinosaurs off this island was the worst mistake that asshole had ever made in his life. And now there's this; the island being guarded by seaplanes and US boats.

Which was weird because there were little security around the island now since then.

Tholestes POV-

The rain had not let-up at all since this morning and I was wet enough as it was. What little shelter I could find in the village was not helping me. So I decided to go to the building were my human was and see if he could let me in to dry off.

As I walked up to the building, I shook the water from my body and cleaned my neck quills. It was hard just to keep them dry, even in the rainy season.

Using my front claw, I scratched at the doors and cawed, hoping that he would answer and open the door to let me in.

There was an answering call from inside as I heard my human walking over to open the door. There was the usual moving away the blockade and finally he opened the door.

 **Josiah's POV-**

My raptor had come back! This was the chance I was waiting for! Opening the door, I moved to the side to let him in.

"Thanks," He said in raptor, but had been translated to English thanks to the translators in my ears.

"Your welcome," I said courteously, like talking to an old friend.

All at once, my raptor stopped and turned his head to face me.

"Did you...just understand...what I just said?" He asked, tilting his head to stare at me quizzically.

I nodded my head and said, "Of course I did. And I just understood you right now."

I closed the door as my raptor kept gazing me with a flabbergasted look on his face. This was probably something totally new in his world. A human who could understand raptor speech.

"But...this is not possible. How can you understand me? A mere human can't understand **dinosaurio** language."

I chuckled a bit and said, "Well, I'm the proof that says that you are wrong, big boy. I can understand you perfectly. By the way, my name's Josiah. What's yours?"

My raptor shook his head to get rid of his bewildered look on his face.

"My name is Tholestes."

"Tholestes? Hmm, good name. so...I'm probably guessing that you have some questions you'd like to ask me, right."

Tholestes nodded his head. "I sure do,"

I walked over to the kitchen and sat down on one of the chairs.

"If you have questions, I'm willing to answer them. And then you can answer some of my questions, too. How about it?"

Tholestes joined me in the kitchen and sat on his hindquarters on the floor, so that he sat upright when he spoke to me.

"I think that's fair," he said. "So, here's my first question..."

for the rest of the afternoon, Me and Tholestes swapped questions and answers. It was nice having someone to talk to and the raptor really didn't seem that bad at all. I couldn't see why humans and dinosaurs couldn't get along.

Finally, it was time for Tholestes last question and my last answer.

"Did humans really create us?"

He said this in an uncertain-like tone. It caught me almost off-guard so that I was quiet before explain it. Oh, boy. How was I going to answer this one?

I couldn't tell a lie right then and there to his face. He wouldn't buy it. And not telling him would only press him on until I cracked from the tension.

I sighed and gave Tholestes his answer.

"It's true, Tholestes. Humans did create you guys,"

Tholestes nodded in understanding, looking like someone who was taking a bit of bad news all in. I didn't want him to think humans were the bad guys here, so I continued with my answer.

"but not in a bad way, mind. We gave you guys a second chance at life and..."

"Put us in cages," Tholestes finished for me. I couldn't help but notice he had a bitter tone in his voice. "I knew there was something wrong on how we ended up here on this island. My grandfather always said that we were not born of this island, but from human creation. To be put in cages for human amusement. I mean, there were so many signs."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Like the old grey buildings with dead raptor vertebrates inside, rusted old cages with the musky scent of other dinosaurs, and the bones of several of my kind scattered on the dirt floors." He sniffed and his voice became even more bitter as his eyes fell onto me. "Is that all we are to you humans? Nothing but experiments to fuel your curiosity?"

I could understand what the young raptor must have been feeling. But I had to say something on my species behalf.

"I don't think that way," I said as calmly as I could. "and you shouldn't ether, Tholestes. It's true that the humans who lived here kept you guys in cages, but that does not mean that all humans are like that. There are some good humans who wouldn't harm you or your island home at all."

I knew that he was the lowest ranking raptor in his pack, as well as the most efficient hunter, but would he really understand that not all humans were bad?

Tholestes didn't look so sure. I could hear his sickle-claw tapping on the floor and the same gaze that he was giving me was not helping. He snorted and said, "Yeah, right."

"It's true," I argued, trying not to get mad. "Not all humans are evil. There are some who just don't understand you or your home, that's all."

Tholestes still didn't seem so sure. But his tapping stopped.

"I'll take your word for it that not all humans are bad. But... what if you're wrong?"

I sighed and stood up from my seat.

"Then... my stay here on this island was a waste of my time."

Tholestes also stood up and looked outside the kitchen window.

"The rain's stopped, Josiah. I should be getting back to my pack. My grandfather might be getting worried. And while I'm at my nest, I'll think about what you said about humans and how not all of them are evil. I just hope that my alpha can understand."

I opened the door for him and as he was about to leave, he turned to me and nodded his thanks and then abruptly ran out of the church and in the direction of his home. But I still couldn't help but notice the doubtful tone in Tholestes voice before he left.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 **Departure**

 **:**

 **Mainland-Costa Rica Docks**

GregGanwickstood with his back against the wall of the small ship, his patients waning. Dodgson's contact was suppose to have arrived by now.

He adjusted his glasses again and checked his watch. It was 5:56 but waiting was over!

He had Eddie and his team pack-up and get on board of the boat that would take them to Site B. The captain would not take-off unless the money was given to him, of course.

Eddie, Rita, and Hector stayed inside the cabin to wait for the boat to leave. When they had agreed to join Greg to Site B, they thought it was a chance to earn some real money. Some of it for educational institution and some of it for personal gain. Hector was the one who wanted the money for his own personal gain.

Hector Delgado had it rough the last few summers after school ended. He knew that he was overweight and a bit sloppy and meek, but he was quite intelligent and knew a little about weaponry. Because of his sloppiness in high-school, he was very much disliked by other students. Except for Eddie and Rita who stuck by him whenever they could.

After this trip to Site B, he would have enough money to make to a privet college.

Rita was no different. She had fallen onto hard-times, too. School had not been good this year. The tests were getting harder, the days in the summer were longer, and all that added up on Rita's bad attitude toward her peers, who now thought that she was trouble.

Her mother, who worked as a preschool caretaker, worried that her daughter would never amount to anything. Because of her fiery nature and bad attitude toward her teachers and the principles at Waller Junior High school , she almost failed. That was until Josiah came and bailed her out. He spoke on her behalf and stood up for her, saying that it would never happen again. This act of compassion caused Rita to become romantically involved with him and the two started to date. There was only one problem; Josiah was 23 and Rita was 18. So, it was a semi-relationship. But still, Rita and him had stayed friends and they both cherished it.

And now she had a chance to set things right with her mother. If she could help Greg and this Dodgson guy get what's ever on the Site B island, she would have enough money to get into collage. And since she had been in the cub scouts for girls and summer camp, she could handle the wild.

Eddie was also doing this for money, but not because he wanted to get into collage. He figured that since his ex-friend, Eric Kirby, had become famous, he would be setup for life. Eddie had become jealous of his former friend, even though Eric had sworn not to talk about his eight weeks stay on the island. Eddie knew it was because Eric and his folks had signed a written agreement that profoundly prohibited them from telling anybody about what they saw on the island. But all Eddie thought was that Eric was just being self-centered.

It was true that he and Eric got into trouble sometimes and that he himself ended up in juvenile hall for it, but why did Eric get off so easily? It wasn't fair that he wound up in Juvenile hall and Eric was let-off with a warning from the police.

After his time in juvenile hall, Eddie returned to high-school where his older peers kept their distance away from him. They didn't want to have anything to do with a delinquent. This hurt Eddie a lot and when Eric had returned from his 8 week survival on one of the Jurassic park islands, the thirteen year old had become a junior high school celebrity overnight. Students of every age, be it at lunch or after school, would flock from all around and bombard Eric with questions about his experience and survival on Isla Sorna. Eddie was always shunted to one side whenever people saw Eric in the hallways, and he was able to put up with it for a while, and he never complained about it, but now he was pissed off.

At one time, Eric tried to confront Eddie about his issues about him being jealous in school. Eddie had shot back that Eric only cared about being a celebrity and that he didn't want to be seen with a delinquent who just got out of juvenile hall because it would make him look bad. Eric was hurt by that statement and tried to truthfully argue back that he did not want the fame or glory of being a survivor on Site B, and that he only wanted a normal life. It wasn't his fault that people hounded him in school for autographs and questions. He didn't like it ether.

But Eddie was not convinced. When Eric had been on TV on _Oprah_ and _Good Morning America,_ that only confirmed that he was enjoying the attention. Eddie felt that Eric was milking this new lifestyle of his for all it's worth. Eddie also thought that if Eric ever got a speck of dirt on his pants, people would dry clean him if it would make him look good for the cameras.

Eric had had enough of Eddie's accusations and a fissure had fragmented between the two friends. During that time Eddie had acquired some new friends. Hector Delgado and Rita Clarence.

Now that he was down here in Costa Rica with his friends, it was time to get rich.

Another minute later, the contact had arrived at the docks. Greg, of course, blew up in the guy's face. The argument went on for another minute before Greg was able to finally pay the man for his troubles.

The engines came to life a minute later and the contact, who's name was Eugene Snakely, backed the boat up out of the docks and onto the darkening ocean.

From here, it would be 207 miles to Isla Sorna. An easy departure from the docks to the ocean, and then onto the island. Greg hoped that the security around the island had weakened. If it was possible, they wouldn't be spotted by any of the patrol boats.

It was bad enough that the jeep that was brought along with them took up much of boat's cargo space, but now he had to bring these damned kids with him.

But they were expendable. He would not need them for long.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 **A young ones wonder**

 **:**

 **Tholestes POV-**

"...and the human, who's name is Josiah, told me that we were created by humans here on the island."

I had arrived back at the nest a minute later after the rain had stopped and had told Phaganax and Kara what Josiah had told me. The moment I told them what Josiah had told me, they didn't seem to take it well.

Kara shook her head and seemed like she was trying hard not to believe me.

Phaganax looked like he wanted to believe, but couldn't.

I didn't blame them. This was hard news to bring back to the pack alphas.

"That filthy human is lying!" Growled Phaganax. "It can't be true! It just can't!"

"Oh, wake up and smell the dung pile, Phaganax!" Kara screeched at him. "As hard as it is to believe, I think that Tholestes words are true."

Phaganax looked at his mate and gave her a bewildered look.

"Kara, you're not saying that you actually believe...that we were created by...by humans, do you?"

"I do," replied Kara. "Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I always knew there was a reason for our kind being here on this island. My mother once told me that humans kept us in cages and some the younger hatchlings who were with her at the time told me that they saw unborn raptors in glass tubes. I think humans called it 'cloning' and that we were nothing but scientific experiments that were copies from the original raptors from long ago."

I saw Kara's face fall as she recalled hearing about how her pack had managed to survive during her mother's time when humans kept her pack in pens. How the great storm had forced the human keepers to release the dinosaurs from their pens. And how she remembered hearing about Phaganax's poor mother being shot by a keeper during the release.

"So we're nothing but copies. Mere shadows from the ancient raptors from long ago," I heard Phaganax say slowly. "I knew that humans were capable of anything, but I never thought that they would be able to create us."

Kara turned to me. "Tholestes, I need for you to keep an eye on this human, this Josiah, and ask him more questions about our origins. And since he can understand raptor speech, it will be easier for him to understand our questions."

I nodded. "Yes alpha Kara, I will."

 **Josiah's POV-**

I knew Tholestes was upset, but I didn't know that telling him about his origins would make him even more upset.

I viewed our acquaintanceship kind of dearly. He was the first raptor I ever understood and made friends with. I just hoped he wasn't too angry with me not to come back here to see me.

To clear my thoughts, I took a drive to the open plains to see the herds. Maybe being around them would make me feel better. But the animals didn't prove to be entertaining at all, even with my translator to understand them. The Corythosaurs were boring and the only thing that was good about them was that they said funny things like; "This is my patch! Or, "Have you ever seen such wonderful babies?" or they say things like, "Excuse me, I have to defecate."

The Brachiosaur weren't much better either. They'd make bellowing sounds that I could not understand and when they did say something, it just sounded like unintelligent gibberish about nothing.

The Stegosaurus were just as boring. All they did was brows and grunt and then start browsing again. I thought about getting out of my jeep and walking up to them, but then thought better of it. In Ian's book, his girlfriend Sarah Harding, had stupidly disturbed a baby stegosaurus and the parents charged at her for it. Best to keep my distance.

"Hey, human!"

Looking over by shoulder, I saw a Parasaurolophus standing over me with an annoyed look on it's face. It had a red crest that was about over 2 m (6 ft7 in) long, indicating that it was fully grown. It's size was over 40 ft (12 m) long and 8 feet (2.8 m) tall at the hips. The animal's scales were a nice shade of green with a few little dark patches while it's underbelly was a soft cream colour. And judging by it's irritated voice, I think it was female.

"Are you addressing me by any chance?" I asked the dinosaur, pointing to myself.

The Parasaurolophus snorted in irritation. "Yes, I'm talking to you, human. Move aside. You are standing in my herd's way."

I looked behind her and saw the herd standing in jungle a little ways. There were babies and mothers and some young parasaurolophus who looked like they ready to leave the herd.

I took a step back and moved aside. "You happy now, miss-"

"Zaba," the Parasaurolophus supplied irritably. "and I'll be happy when you filthy humans leave our island. We don't need your kind here." She snorted in my face again and walked off onto the plains. She stood halfway in the field and then sniffed the air. After second or two, she turned to the forest and let out a loud bugling call to the rest of the herd that it was safe to come out and feed. The herd moved out onto the field and began to graze, save for a few who drank at the water hole. The youngsters fed among their parents while the babies grazed near their mothers. What I didn't understand was that Zaba did not react when I understood her and she spoke back. With was weird. I thought it would be a big reaction to the dinosaur that a human could understand her.

As I stood near the herd, a single young Parasaurolophus came over to inspect me. It was four-foot-high with a short crest that was a dull-faded-green. It's lower body was light yellow while along it's neck, back, and hindquarters, it had a nice mottled green colour. It wasn't blubbery or clumsy when it walked and I could see that the little guy was graceful in it's steps as it moved toward me.

I knew it was against my better judgement to go interacting with the animals here on the island, but that did not stop the animal itself from approaching me. I got down on one knee so that I did not come-off as a threat to it. If a mother was nearby, I did not want the misfortune of dealing with her. And besides, photographers did this with elephant seals many times before on beaches.

The little Parasaurolophus came a little closer. The little guy's eyes were bright with curiosity as he stood up on his hind-legs to get a better look at me.

"Hello, little guy." I said gently as the dinosaur curiously looked at me. Leaning forward, it sniffed me a few times. It withdrew and snorted.

"You smell odd," It said. "and what kind of scales are those? You're green like a dark leaf, not yellow and blue. Ghastly poisonous is yellow and blue."

I had to smile at the little Parasaurolophus's curiosity. He'd probably never seen a human before.

"These aren't my scales, little guy. This are my clothes," I explained, plucking at my camouflage jacket.

The young dinosaur's golden eyes lit-up with bewilderment. It took a step back and mouthed wordlessly.

"You...you can understand me?" he stammered. "how?"

I chuckled. "I'm a human, little guy, we can understand animals a little different then you think."

The dinosaur puffed up his small chest indigently. "I'm not called little! My mother calls me Zephyr " he got back down on all-fours and snorted. "She named me while I was still in my egg and when a gentle breeze blew through our nest, and Zephyr is who I am."

I laughed. This little guy was alright in my book. He had a good strong name for a Parasaurolophus, and I respected that.

"Well, glade to meet you, Zephyr . I'm Josiah."

"Josiah?" asked Zephyr, puzzled. "Well, a names a name."

Zephyr walked in a wide circle around me, checking me out from every angle. I bet he was curious about where I came from. It was impossible to imagine that these dinosaurs had never seen a human before in their lives. And it was also hard to imagine that the INGEN hunter would dare to capture these guys for there own profit.

"Wow-a real human from the mainland," He said. "Finally, a human who can convince the other young herd members there's a world beyond our island."

I gave Zephyr a puzzled look. "What do you mean by that?"

Zephyr walked over to the pond, drank from it, and then walked back to me.

"Some of the younger herd members believe that there is no mainland and that this island is the only world we've ever known. But I know differently. A while back, I come upon an abandon human settlement. This was during when my herd was travelling to a new grazing ground, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. Zaba had all of us stop to rest, eat, sleep, and graze. I took that time to explore the human's settlement. Inside one of them, I found this strange-flat leaf-thing that had all these strange colorful images in them. I don't know what it was, but I was amazed by it."

"Wait," I said, halting Zephyr's story with my index finger. "You said this Strange-flat leaf-thing had images in it?"

Zephyr nodded.

"I think that thing you found was called a book."

Zephyr gave me a perplexed look. "What's a book?"

"A book is what we humans use to read. That strange-flat leaf-thing was a book left behind by humans who use to live here on the island."

Nodding in understanding, Zephyr said, "So, that's what it was called. Hmm, I knew humans were smart but I never knew they were that smart."

I rubbed the back of my head in embarrassment. "Stop it, little guy, you're embarrassing me. Besides, humans aren't all that smart."

Zephyr shook his little crest and snorted. "But you have ta' be! You created such wonderful things. Yet, you say your kind are not all that special."

My face fell a bit. "Some think that we're not."

"Like who?"

Uh-ho. That part I was not prepared for. I couldn't tell little Zephyr that I was acquainted with a raptor. He would freak for sure. So, I lied.

"Well, Zephyr, like some of the herds here on the island. They don't take kindly to humans like little-old me."

Zephyr snorted. "They're just a bunch of bog-brains and cress-heads! They think humans will be the ruin of this island. I know differently. Me and my mother, Jahunda, think that humans might be our salvation."

"What do you mean by salvation?" I inquired. "Does your mother think I can help her and the herd get off the island? If so, then I can't do that, Zephyr."

The young saurolophus shook his head. "Nothing like that, Josiah. My mother thinks that your kind can help protect use from the carnivores here on the island."

"What?"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 **Move, and you die**

 **:**

 **Josiah's POV-**

It had been a confusing day for me. First the matter with Tholestes, then Zaba giving me dinosaur attitude, and now Zephyr. The little guy thought that I could protect him and his herd. He was dreaming! I couldn't do that. Getting involved in the dinosaurs little lives was not what I was concerned in doing for the young Parasaurolophus.

I was here to survive the island, not get tangled up in a dinosaur warfare. I couldn't protect anyone.

"I can't do that, Zephyr." I told him. "I can't protect your herd from the carnivores on the island."

Zephyr frowned. "Why?"

"I'm not here to protect your herd or be the answers to your carnivore problem. I'm just here to survive for nine weeks, and that's all."

Zephyr scoffed at that. "Why would a human willingly come to our island?"

As I began to talk, Zephyr heard a faint thud in the distance. He stood up on his hind legs and looked up into the sky, only noticing a bunch of clouds.

"You hear something?"

"No. Anyways, I was supposed to-"

Zephyr heard the same thud once more and stopped me from talking.

"What? I thought you wanted to know-"

"Quiet, Josiah." Zephyr hissed.

The two of us stood silently and waited a few more seconds to hear the thud again.

"Did you feel that?"

"Yeah, I felt it…" I replied.

A bunch of birds flew into the sky above the forest, looking like they were flying away from some sort of unseen predator. And if that wasn't enough, some of the leaves scattered off the trees and fluttered to the grass.

My blood ran cold as I looked around for the source of the thuds. Zephyr's eyes were alert as he craned his neck to look into the jungle.

"There's a Tyrannosaurus nearby. I gotta' warn the others!" he turned ran back the herd, bugling a warning cry. Zaba and the other herd members lifted their heads in alarm. Almost immediately, the herd stampeded away. Zephyr followed soon after, running on his hind legs to catch up to the herd. They disappeared over the rise of a hill, leaving behind a cloud of fine dust.

I, on the other hand, was just standing there in the middle of the grassy field.

Then another boom was heard that was just as loud as the first one. I fell backwards due to a thunderous boom that shook the ground but slowly stood up and gasped, dropping my jaw. A T-Rex as least 18 feet tall and 40 feet long was standing right in front of me. Looking at it more closely, I recognized it as the same Rex I'd seen two weeks ago. It had the same dark-grayish scales and diagonal dark-blue stripes. There was nothing I could do except stay absolutely still. The T-Rex shifted her head down and growled softly, studying her prey. Me.

I stood there without moving a muscle, staring at the massive reptile as it stared back at me. I remembered what Grant said about the dinosaur not being able to you if you don't move a muscle. The T-Rex blinked and growled again, looming her head over me before taking it back and looking left and right.

I stood rigidly, booted right to the spot. I had to keep still.

The T-Rex moved closer to toward me and examined me more closely, blinking every couple of seconds. She moved her head over to me and started snorting on my hair, which tickled every couple of seconds on my scalp. I ignored it and stood still, like a mannequin. It was really the only thing I could do. Pulling out my hand gun, no matter how carefully I did it, wouldn't even faze the reptile's rough skin. It would only piss her off.

The Rex nudged me on the head, forcing me to take a step backwards.

"Shit." I mumbled. That was stupid.

I shouldn't have done that. The initial reaction would've been for me to fall backward on my back like a stone. She growled at me again, blinked a few times and snorted loudly, blowing a strong gust in my face. Still, I did nothing except stand still. I felt beads of sweat run down the side of my head, my eyes wide with fear.

The T-Rex growled and smiled slightly when she figured out that I might have some sentient life inside of me. She leaned forward toward me and opened her maw.

"That pathetic little trick won't work, human," The Rex growled. "I can _see_ you and _smell_ you."

 _Gulp_! Oh-boy, this was not good. So, she could see me.

"Ha-ha, what a pity," she snorted. "It's almost a shame that I have to devour you."

I had to do something. Maybe if I distracted her, but that wouldn't work. Even if I did manage to run back to my jeep, turn on the ignition, and drive, there would be no way I could out-drive this Rex on a narrow trail.

Licking her scaly lips, the Rex leaned forward and extended her tongue, which slowly caressed me on my face. I inhaled aggressively to keep myself from whimpering as the tongue ran directly up my face, frothing saliva right onto my nose and on my forehead. There was just something about having a large tongue on my face that made me feel uneasy. It was obvious that the dinosaur hadn't been too keen on dental hygiene just by the smell of her breath. But then again, when a dinosaur eats nothing but meat—rotten or alive—it tends to leave a disgusting odour on ones breath.

"Ewww! god almighty," I mumbled.

Withdrawing her tongue, the dinosaur growled questionably and sniffed near my underarms a few times before she growled in disgust.

"You smell a little odd, human," She snorted. "so eating you will be reserved for my little one."

Opening her jaws again, the tyrannosaur clamped her teeth between the front of my shirt. Instantly, I tried to run, but it was too late. The Rex lifted me high in the air and dangled me in her mighty jaws.

"No!" I shouted. "Let me go! Help!"

I knew my cries for help wouldn't reach another human, but that did not mean that could get the attention of Tholestes. I knew raptors could hear sounds from a considerable distance and that Tholestes was charged by his alpha to keep an eye on me. I just hope my yells and shouts were heard by someone.

 **Tholestes POV-**

I heard a scream from the jungle to my left and recognized it as my human's scream. Josiah's scream!

I called to my pack, signalling I needed their help. When they got up, I lead the way out of the nesting area and through the forest, hopping over fallen branches towards the source of Josiah's scream. Hopefully it wasn't too late. It was like making a kill. One loud cry, and then silence.

"I don't know why we're risking ourselves for a human!" panted one of the pack members with a sneer.

I glared at him before replying.

"That _human_ is the only one who can understand our speech. Alpha Kara put me in charge of keeping him safe so that she could question him about our past and how we were created by other humans. Plus, She and Phaganax are hunting for themselves right now. Do you want to challenge our Alpha's command and disrupt their hunt?"

The pack member lowered his head. "No,"

I hissed, "Then don't argue with me ever again!"

I ran as fast as I could, busting out of the trees into the meadow, getting more traction and better speed now that there were no trees to swerve around. When we reached the other side of the field, we slowed and filtered through the trees, coming into the small clearing that held the small pond.

That's when the scent of the tyrannosaur caught my attention. The foul reek of the carnivore was all over the clearing.

"The tyrannosaur was here," I hissed. "Damned tyrant reptilian! She has the human!"

the pack chirped and hissed in both fear and hesitation. I didn't blame them for being afraid. The tyrannosaur had taken some of our pack members before in the past and that was when I was Fern's age. That was when we had lost our father.

Well, I wasn't going to let it happen again!

"You all don't have to come with me if you don't want to," I said, turning to the rest of the pack. "but I'm going to go after that tyrannosaur to get the human back."

With that, I ran across the field and into the dense forest, following the trail of the tyrannosaur. I knew it was foolhardy to go after a Rex by myself, but Josiah's life depended on it. That human had the answers to our past and...deep down I felt that he was my...friend. I knew it sounded ridiculous and all, but I felt that way about him. He was like a close member of my pack that I never had. Sure I may have only just met him and knew him for a week or two, but he and I shared a sort of bond. And I was not going to let some filthy Rex take that bond away from me!

I raced faster through the jungle, hellbent on getting Josiah back.

 **Josiah's POV-**

High branches of trees lashed at my arms and pants. The hot breath of the tyrannosaur whooshed in snorts over my face and head. Saliva dripped onto chin and down the sides of my neck. I thought I'd pass out from terror. But the jaws of the dinosaur never closed on me.

A minute went by as the tyrannosaur carried me. I felt the animal move downward through the thick jungle. It was moving downhill. I knew for a fact dinosaurs that were nesting build their nests in low-landed areas. I strained my head to the side to see where we were going and saw that up ahead, the game trail divided in two. I saw the previous footprints of the tyrannosaur, going off to the left. Ten yards ahead, we passed a partially eaten leg of a creature, which lay at the side of the path. The leg was old; it was crawling with white maggots and flies. In the mid-morning heat, the sharp smell was nauseating. We continued, and soon saw the skull of a large animal, some of the flesh and green skin still matching to the bone. It, too, was covered with flies. The ferns around me were huge and dense, but up ahead I could see sunlight shining through, from a clearing beyond.

Uh-Oh, that must be the nest. And in that nest must be her babies!

When we reached the clearing, the dinosaur dropped me. Tumbling through the air I fell from the month of the tyrannosaur, and landed hard on my back on an earthen slope. The breath was knocked out of me, the back of my head slammed down, and I was dizzy for a moment. I opened my eyes, and saw a sloping bank of dried mud. I smelled a sour odour of decay. And then I heard a sound that chilled me: it was a high-pitched squeaking.

I got up on one elbow, and saw I was in the tyrannosaur's nest. The sloping mound of dried mud was all around me. On the ground were old bones of animals. And standing in the middle of the nest, 3-feet tall and big-eyed, was the infant tyrannosaur.

I scrambled to my feet, unsure of what to do. If I ran for it then the mother tyrannosaur would surly chase after me. But the infant rexling was hungry and fighting it would only guarantee that the mother would take her vengeance on me if I so much as laid a hand on her baby.

 **Tholestes POV-**

I stopped to catch my breath. Running this hard, even at my young age, had taking a lot out of me. ' _Note to self; layoff the snacking for a while'_

I arrived over the hill that would lead me downward to the game trail. I knew for a fact that no sane raptor would ever go into a rex's territory unless he or she had a death wish.

But Josiah needed my help. If there was a chance that he was still alive, then I was willing to take that chance. Carefully and silently, I entered the game trail and into the rex's territory.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

 **A close shave**

 **:**

 **Josiah's POV-**

The tyrannosaur infant toddled toward me, with the intent of eating me alive!

I stood up and tried to make a run for it. In an instant, the big adult brought her head down, knocking me over. Then the tyrannosaur raised her head again, and waited. Watching me. Cautiously, I got to my feet again. And again, I was knocked down. The infant squeaked and came closer.

I got up on all fours, and began crawling away.

"Oh, no you don't," I heard the mother Rex growl. "You're not getting away that easily."

Something grabbed me by the seat of my pants, holding me. I looked back and saw that my backside was in the jaws of the tyrannosaur. The big animal held me gently for a moment. Then lifted me up over her infant. This was so undignified. I felt like a worm hanging in the beak of a mother bird about to feed her baby chick!

But this baby chick had teeth! And like a chick it darted upward to take fast quick bites out of my out stretched fingers.

I recoiled by fingers and tried to keep them out of reach of the hungry infant.

In that instant, I heard a loud barking sound. It came from uphill from the nest's clearing.

I knew that bark. It was Tholestes's raptor call.

Immediately, the Rex jerked her head up. She scanned the area around her nest, looking intently in the direction up the trail.

The baking came again, followed by a equally loud screech. It was a challenge. An insulting challenge.

The Rex's jaws opened and I dropped to the ground again, landing hard on all fours. The infant hopped back and squeaked.

"SICKLE-CLAW!" The Rex let loose a thundering bellow as she rose to her full height. I covered my ears from deafening roar. I did not like that sound.

"How dare you trespass into my Territory!"

Tholestes let out another insulting bark and caw. "Your territory?! That's a laugh! your territory stinks just like your pile of dung!"

I almost burst out laughing but covered my mouth with my hands. What was Tholestes doing?

I looked up and saw pure rage on the tyrannosaur's face. "You'll regret that insult RAPTOR!" She bellowed, charging out of the clearing and up the trail. I could feel the ground shake as the dinosaur's footfalls faded. I knew that the raptor was distracting the tyrannosaur so that I could get away. I had to take that chance.

I scrambled to my feet and dashed out of the nest. The infant tried to attack me but I launched my foot out and kicked the damn thing in the face. The infant landed on it's side, dazed. Then I madly dashed out of the nest and sprinted up the trail and out the clearing like I was on the track team. Finally, I slowed my sprint to jog and found myself back at the fork in the trail. Breathing heavily, I looked to the left and then up the trail were I had come in. I couldn't go up the trail I had come last time. The tyrannosaur would catch me again. So I took the path to the left. Jogging, I made my way up the trail as fast as I could. The thick jungle spread out into a field. I recognized it as the same field that the Rex had taken me from.

I was about to run into the field and get to my jeep, and get the hell back to the worker village. When I stopped myself.

Tholestes was still out there. I could hear the roars of the tyrannosaur and his own screech and barks. The trees shook a few yards away and birds flew away in fright.

Inside, I felt that I should help Tholestes. No. I had to!

That raptor was risking his life to rescue me, and I had to do the same for him! But how could I help? I'd just be in the way. I couldn't protect him if the Rex got a hold of him. And I very much doubted my rifle in my jeep would have any effect on the dinosaur's rough scales.

Then I remembered something. Something about how a tyrannosaur couldn't follow prey in dense foliage. That's it!

A tyrannosaur couldn't chase prey in dense jungle, otherwise it would trip over and injure itself from falling. Scientists had argued that a _Tyrannosaurus_ weighing 5.4 metric tons (6.0 short tons) to 7.3 metric tons (8.0 short tons) would have been critically or even fatally injured if it had fallen while moving quickly.

If that was true, then I could help Tholestes. I turned back to where the roars were coming from and ran to the other side of the jungle.

 **Tholestes POV-**

I made a high pitched vocalization and raised my toe claws. The Rex glared at me.

"You can't keep avoiding me forever, sickle-claw!" Snarled the tyrannosaur. "you'll tire soon and then I'll have you!"

I snorted, "Speed is everything to a raptor, tyrant queen!" I sprang to the right just as the tyrannosaur charged at me, jaws opened. She only got empty air.

"and once I get past you, I'll retrieve my human prey that you had taken from me."

"Your human?" the Rex asked surprised.

"Yes, my human!" I answered. "I heard his cries and now I want him back!"

Snorting in amusement, the tyrannosaur stood over me. "You audacious little sickle-claw," she snorted. "that human is my infant's prey now. He's probably dead and devoured by now."

"I don't believe you," I snorted back, feeling a bit of fear course through me. "that human is not dead."

"And you are right, Tholestes!" Called a voice from behind me.

I turned 'round and saw Josiah standing right behind me. Startled, I jumped a little.

"You're alive?" I stammered, trying not take my eyes off the Rex.

"Alive and well, raptor-boy," he said, looking all proud. "this tyrannosaur forgot one thing: we humans are smarter then them."

The Rex growled, "You should be dead, human!"

Josiah turned to her. "Your baby is not having human today, bitch!"

Snarling, the tyrannosaur lunged. I dodged out of the way, but Josiah didn't.

Instead, he ran between the tyrannosaur's legs.

The Rex missed him by an inch. If those teeth had got him...I didn't want to think about it.

Josiah ran behind the irritated Rex and mockingly shouted to her, "What's wrong, Miss fang-face? Am I too much for you?"

The tyrannosaur growled and turned to glare at him. "I am Tyra, human! Not fang-face! And it will be the last words you'll hear when I devour you!"

She charged, her jaws wide open.

"MOVE!" I screeched.

Josiah turned and ran into the jungle, with Tyra right behind him.

 **Josiah's POV-**

I knew that this was suicidal. Running for one's life from a mad-crazed tyrannosaur was something some of the survivors that were on this island the last time were used to, but not me.

I heard the dinosaur roar and looked back to see the animal's dark eyes glimmer with hunger and anticipation.

The ground shook and explosions of mud and muck rose with the tyrant queen's heavy strides.

I raced on worriedly, scanning the thick jungle for a place to hide. My idea was to try and trip the tyrannosaur in the jungle, but that plan went south fast.

The animal was keeping pace with me, even with the dense jungle to slow it down.

The footfalls behind me grew louder. The jungle was starting to open up, but I needed to find some cover and fast. I was running out of options.

The ground suddenly dropped and I stumbled down a steep shelf. Landing at the base, I rolled and stood back up. It was a good thing that I did roll otherwise I would've twisted my ankle.

Rhhhh-ahhhrrrr!

I turned just in time to see Tyra tumbling down the sharp slide. I ran to move out of the way. The tyrannosaur would only need a few seconds to recover her footing. Then she'd be on me.

The ground shuddered behind me as I lunged forward to avoid getting crushed under the tyrannosaur's feet. I heard a sicking snap like a large branch and heard her roar in pain. I turned around to see what had happened.

Tyra lay on the ground, her head a few feet from me. It looked as if she had fallen down the slide a lot more harder then I expected. She was on her belly, her short arms trying to push herself up. But to no avail.

"No!" she roared in pain and frustration. "Not my toe claw, not my toe claw!"

I moved around the tyrannosaur's body and over to where she would not get at me. Then I saw what was wrong with her.

Tyra's toe claw on the left foot was bent in an awkward angle, blood was spilling out of the open wound. Every time she tried to get up, she had to put pressure on her injured foot. This, of course, only caused her more serious pain. There was as least one thing that was true about the dinosaurs; falling was fatal. Even for them.

"Josiah, are you alright?"

I looked up and saw Tholestes standing at the edge of the slide, looking as if he'd not even seemed breathless. Lucky for him.

"I'm fine, Tholestes," I breathed, feeling sweat drop down my face. "but she's not." I pointed my finger to Tyra.

Tholestes joined me by my side. He inspected me from head to leg and arms, looking concerned. I waved him off.

"I told you I was fine,"

He snorted, "I had to make sure, that's all."

A growl from the tyrannosaur caught our attention. Tyra once again tried to get up. But the pain in her injured toe claw prevented her from even moving.

"Ugh! This can not happen to me. How in the name of carnivore will I be able to provide food for my baby?!" her eyes turned on me and Tholestes. The look was neither friendly, or happy. "you did this to me, human! You caused me to fall and to injure myself!"

"You have done that yourself!" I countered at her. "It's your own fault for chasing me in the first place."

growling in pain, Tyra then turned to Tholestes. "You think you've won, huh sickle-claw? Are you going to call the rest of your miserable pack to come and finish me off?"

I turned to Tholestes and saw that he had a look mild contempt on his face.

I couldn't tell if he really wanted to kill Tyra or leave her where she was.

Turing away, he said, in a deadly tone, "By all means, tyrannosaur, I would gladly call my pack to have them come here and rip you apart."

He turned to leave, his neck quills flat-calm. But then they stood up in a sinister-like manner. Turning back to Tyra he said, coldly, "But seeing as how this is Ghost-eye territory, I wouldn't want to be you when the sun goes down right about now." What little colour there was in the tyrannosaur's face just vanished. I saw a slight twinge of fear etched in her eyes as she looked around worriedly.

Tholestes then turned to me.

"You coming, or what?"

I walked after him, climbing up the slope to the ridge where I had fallen. Tholestes had already bounded up the slide and was waiting for me. I turned back one last time to look at Tyra. Then turned and followed Tholestes into the jungle.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 **Truth be told**

:

 **Josiah's POV-**

I followed Tholestes through the dense jungle and back toward where I'd parked my jeep. While we walked I was thinking about the tyrannosaur. Why was she not surprised that I could understand her? I knew that Zaba, the Parasaurolophus, wasn't at the least surprised that I could understand her at all. Why didn't she and the tyrannosaur react? It was just so confusing.

As we walked to the edge of the trees I spotted the other members of Tholeste's pack, and held back for a moment.

I knew Tholestes but did not know the rest of his pack. I did not want to take any chances with them. Maybe I was being unreasonably paranoid, but I'd almost lost my life too many times over the past three weeks to feel like taking even the slimmest risk with my life with these dinosaurs.

"Are you sure that your friends there won't hurt me?" I cautiously asked from behind Tholestes.

"Don't worry, human," He told me with a sand-papery sigh of annoyance. "My pack won't lay a claw on you. My alpha female, Kara, told them and myself that no raptor in our pack is to harm you."

I guess I could take his word for it.

A few minutes later, though, we weren't heading in the direction of my jeep but in a different direction into the jungle from the open field. Tholestes led the way, followed by me and the rest of the pack.

I wanted to return to my jeep and drive back to the worker village, but Tholestes told me that he was taking me to see his alpha female.

I didn't feel safe without my rifle or hand gun. Without them, I couldn't guarantee that the raptors would turn around and attack me.

But I had to trust Tholeste's word on this.

We travelled down a path that looked like a game trail. After another minute, we crossed into a wide-open area surrounded by several mounds. I was guessing that these were the nests. There were some hacthlings and young raptors scurrying around the nesting area, but no eggs. I was surprised, because dinosaur nests usually conveyed an unmistakable sense of disorder. These younger raptors must have been this year's clutch that had just hatched some time ago.

As we entered the nesting area, I could feel some of the other raptors watching me. Some were with curiosity, like the young ones, while others, like the older adults, were with cold glares. I felt a bead of sweat drop down my back. I was really uneasy about all this.

Tholestes led me over to a large tree in the middle of the nesting area where two raptors stood. They must be the alphas of the pack here. Before we got any closer to them, Tholestes stopped me in my tracks with his tail to my chest.

"Before you are presented to my alphas, you need to know a few things when you greet them."

I raised an eyebrow. "Like what?" I asked.

"You must get down on your knees when you are in their presence. Speak only when you are addressed by either Kara or Phaganax. Don't back-talk at them or you'll regret it. And most important try not to raise your voice at them or Phaganax will see it as a challenge."

I nodded in understanding. "Got it,"

After the precautions we both stood in front of the pack leaders. Like Tholestes had told me, I knelt down on my knees and faced both Kara and Phaganax.

 **Tholestes POV-**

Kara approached Josiah and leaned down to inspect him. A raptor behind him sniffed at his hair and neck, then growled at him. Kara hissed at the younger subordinate to back down and to leave Josiah alone. The subordinate growled under his breath and turned away to stand beside the other raptors.

I could feel that Josiah was very nervous but could also see that some of the pack were looking at him with curiosity. Especially my sister and brother. Phaganax was the only one who wasn't looking at him with curiosity. It was more of disgust.

After inspecting him, Kara introduced herself.

"My name Kara. Alpha Beta Kara, human."

Josiah then addressed himself. "And I'm Josiah. Was there a reason why you had me brought here by any chance?"

Kara nodded. "I wanted you here at my nest to answer some of the questions that my mate and myself have that regard our past. About how we got here, and why we were enslaved by humans, and how we are connected to this place you humans call... _Jurassic Park_."

 **Josiah's POV-**

So that's why Tholestes brought me here to this place. Well, there was nothing I could do but to answer the questions the raptor female had to give me. Otherwise I'd end up torn to shreds.

"What is it you want to know first, alpha Kara?" I asked her.

"I want to know about this _Jurassic park_. My pack and I do not know all the details about what that place was."

Taking a deep breath, I told the female raptor about the island of _Jurassic park._ I just hope that the journal had given me enough information to help with this scenario.

"Well, alpha Kara, _Jurassic Park_ is an amusement park created by a group of humans called InGen, featuring extinct animals such as dinosaurs like yourselves as attractions for humans. The place was located on another island called Isla Nubler."

Kara stared at me, puzzlement etched on her face. "And this island that you speak of, Josiah, is that where we came from?"

I shook my head no. "Actually, Kara, you and your kind came from this island."

"But how?"

Oh, boy. I was hoping she would save that question for later. But it couldn't be helped now.

"You see, Isla Nublar was just a showroom, Kara, something for the human tourists to entertain, Site B, this island, was the factory floor. The keepers built a lab here, eight-some miles from Nublar."

Phaganax stared at me and I could see that his anger was slowly building.

"So we were nothing more then entertainment for you filthy humans?! Creatures to be put on display for your own pleasure and amusement?!"

"Not to be rude or anything, Phaganax, but I'm talking to Kara right now," I said as mildly as I could without being too rude. "So why don't you mind your business until she's done talking with me?"

Phaganax was about to lunge forward to rip me to shreds when Kara came and stood between me and him.

"Don't touch him!" She snarled. "This human is right. You where not given permission from me to speak. It was not your turn, Phaganax. Now stand down!"

Phaganax lowered his head in submission and took a step back so that he was standing away from his mate. But his eyes were still on me.

Kara then turned back to me. "You may continue, Josiah," she lay down in front of me and I in turn sat down in front of her, so that we were at eye level to each other when we spoke.

"Anyway," I continued, clearing my throat. "Instead of observing you guys, the keepers tried to control you. They kept you in cages and behind electrified fences for their own safety as well as yours."

"But, why?" Said Kara, shaking her head again. "Why keep us contained behind fences. I don't understand."

I sighed and and explained. "fencing was used in Jurassic Park in order to keep animals from leaving their respective territories and therefore protect visitors. I mean, you guys weren't exactly the friendliest dinosaurs on the island, you know?"

Kara growled. "We raptors weren't meant to be friendly or to be put in cages."

I held up my hands defensively. "I know that, Kara, but that's how you and your kind were treated back then. But now, you're free. You're no longer in cages or behind electrified fences."

Kara snorted proudly. "And that's how we are going to stay, human. No keepers will ever keep us in cages again."

I nodded. "Is there anything else you wanted to ask of me, alpha Kara?"

"Yes," she said. "You said that this island was a 'factory floor'. Is it true that you humans...created us?"

Taking a deep breath, I told her the truth. "Yes, It's true. For all dinosaurs who are on this island, it's true."

Kara looked down at the ground, her reptilian eyes full of disbelief.

I could tell that doubt about the truth was not easy for her to take. To her, it was like being told that you were created by a mad scientist.

"That can't be true," said Kara, shaking her head. "How was it even possible?"

I decided that maybe it was time to tell her the whole truth about her origins. With the rest of the pack and Tholestes listening, I took another deep breath and told her.

"A hundred million years ago, there were mosquitoes, just like today. And, just like today, they fed on the blood of animals. Even you dinosaurs. Sometimes, after biting a dinosaur, the mosquito would land on a branch of a tree, and get stuck in tree sap. After a long time, the tree sap would get hard and become fossilized, just like a dinosaur bone, preserving the mosquito and the dinosaur DNA inside."

"What's DNA?" Asked Kara.

I wasn't much of a science whizz. So I tried to remember as much as I could about DNA.

"Well, DNA is like the bloodstream that flows through your body, Kara. It's what makes you dinosaurs...well, unique. And that bloodstream was used to clone you."

"Clone?"

I face-palmed myself. Oh, man alive! Now I had to explain cloning to these guys. And I didn't have a lot of time, too. The sun over the jungle was beginning to set. It would be dark soon and I didn't have my flashlight with me to help guide myself back to the worker village.

But the raptor wanted to know what cloning was. Just as well to give it to her straight.

"I might as well tell you, Kara, but it won't be easy for you to hear," I said. "You and your species were copied by using the DNA found inside the fossilized mosquito. The keepers took out the preserved blood from the mosquito and used it to create dinosaurs once again."

Kara was silent for a few seconds. I could tell just from her eyes that she was trying to swallow this whole cloning thing.

"So, we're nothing but copies?" She said in a low voice. "Mere shadows of the true raptors who lived long before use?"

My heart felt a pang of guilt. As much as it was to tell Kara about her kind's past and how they were created by humans, I knew that she felt great sadness about it, too. To be cloned from an original creature that lived so long ago and put into cages for human amusement, was pretty hard to take for a raptor like her. Even Tholestes and some of the pack were having a hard time believing it for themselves.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you," I said apologetically to Kara. "But that's how your kind came into this world."

Kara looked at me and then at the darkening sky above the trees.

"It's getting late, hu... I mean, Josiah," she said with tired sigh. "Tholestes with escort you back to the village. We'll ask you other questions tomorrow. For now, I will discuss to my pack about what you've told me."

She got up off her hindquarters and I in turn stood up, dusting the dirt from my pants. At first I didn't know at the moment if Kara was angry or sad. If raptors could feel sadness, that is.

"Tholestes," Kara chirped. Tholestes stood at attention. "I want you take Josiah back to the human village. Make sure he gets there safely."

Tholestes bowed. "Yes, alpha Kara."

He turned to me and motioned for me to follow him out of the nesting area and into the darkening jungle.

I nodded and followed after him.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

 **The Scavengers arrival**

 **:**

Greg Ganwick leaned over the side of the boat and retched, vomiting over the railing.

After four hours of none-stop traveling by boat, the team had arrived at their location. Greg, Eddie, Hector, and Rita had waited for their moment when to land on the island. Greg's contact had stayed offshore of the beach and had circled around so that he could find a place to unload the group and their equipment.

Even though the patrol boats were few, the contact had to be careful not be seen by any of them. The shadow of the island loomed over the little craft like a mountain of darkness.

But that didn't bother Greg at the moment. The thing that bothered him was getting dinosaur eggs off the island. In the back of the jeep was a blue and white cooler, which would hold six or seven eggs. Greg had it all figured out on which eggs he needed to collect. Dodgson wanted herbivore eggs and only herbivore eggs. Carnivore eggs were too dangerous to gather. And Greg didn't want to risk getting his ass eaten by a T-Rex or raptor.

Finally, the boat came to a stop at a dock on the edge of an old wharf.

Unloading the jeep, the group gathered on the dock. Greg turned to his contact.

"How long do we have until you come back?"

The contact looked at his digital watch and squinted in the growing darkness.

"You have 23 hours, Greg. Then I'll come back to this dock and wait for you and your team. But make sure that you be on time, or you get left behind."

With that, the contact reversed the boat and drove off into the darkness of the ocean.

Greg turned to the threesome. He adjusted his glasses and climbed into the driver's seat of the jeep.

"Alright, you heard him. We have 23 hours to retrieve some dinosaur eggs, come back here to the dock, and then we go home to get paid."

Eddie climbed into the passenger seat while Rita and Hector clambered in the back seat. Between the two was the large 'Igloo Cooler' for storing the eggs. According to Dodgson, Greg had enough room inside the cooler for maybe seven or six eggs. One egg was probably the size of a football, or more. Greg didn't know for share but only knew that he didn't have a lot of time on his hands. So he started the jeep and drove up the road that would lead to the outer fields of the island.

 **Josiah's POV-**

The trip back to the worker village was a quite one. After getting my safari jeep, thanking Tholestes, and then apologizing for the second time, I headed home to the village.

I had a lot on my mind right now and the thought of Tholestes and Kara mad at me did not help me sleep that night.

Kara and Phaganax, along with the rest of the pack, had been visibly upset about what I had told them about their origins of Jurassic Park. The pit of my stomach felt knotted and empty.

Sleep was almost impossible. The night dragged on until I was able to finally doz-off. Unknown to me, there were other people on this island...with a different agenda.

 **Isla Sorna Jungle-**

As Greg drove in the darkness, Eddie traced the portable tracking device's green map-like screen that showed the layout of the island's outer rim. On the map there were green dots that showed the areas where the nesting sites were located. Eddie didn't know if it was a good idea to just drive in the jungle in the dark. The only things they had to see in the dark with were the night-vision goggles that were in the map pockets of the jeep.

The weapons they had on them weren't that great either. Hector, being a weapons expert, knew that Greg carried a Colt M1911A1. While they themselves didn't have anything to use as a weapon.

Rita had bought herself a genuine machete from a Costa Rican supermarket near San Jose. The weapon wasn't much against...a dinosaur but it would have to do.

Hector had no weapon except for a pocket knife. All Eddie had was an old hunting knife that had been given to him by his father after he had gotten out of juvenile hall.

The Jeep bounced up the dirt track, moving deeper into the jungle.

Beside Eddie, Greg concentrated on the dark road while also thinking about the money he would make off the eggs when he brought them back to the mainland. Dodgson had wanted dinosaurs eggs because he was no longer interested in valuable embryos from that damned island.

After the incident on Jurassic park in 1993, which was called the Nublar incident, Dodgson had given up on getting embryos. And after the island was demolished by INGEN, thanks to the board of directors, the visitor's center had lost it's embryos storage freezer. Even though the island was empty of dinosaurs, Greg knew that Hammond would have another island up his sleeve hidden somewhere.

The Jeep came to a stop. Directly ahead, the game trail they had been following continued through the foliage, to a clearing beyond. The road trail was wide and muddy, trampled flat by large animals. They could see large, deep footprints in the mud. From the clearing, they heard a low honking noise, like the sound of very large geese.

Greg said, "Here's our first dinosaurs. Everybody out."

The others got out quietly, and they started forward, down the wet trail. Their feet squished in the mud. The sound from the clearing continued. To Rita, it sounded like a lot of animals. Hector, Rita and Eddie followed Greg until they reached a bunch of ferns. Greg pushed aside the last of the ferns and saw them.

It was a large nesting site, with perhaps five or six crater-shaped nests, covered in grasses. The mounds were about seven feet wide, and three feet deep. And standing around the nests were the dinosaurs; Corythosaurus.

"Oh, my God," Rita said, staring opened mouthed.

Eddie shook his head in disbelief. "Can you believe this?"

Hector stared with wide eyes at what he was seeing. "Man!"

The animals stood thirteen-feet in height and were twenty five-feet in length from bill to tail. The animals also had creamy white bodies, with orange splotches outlined in black and had vivid red crests on their heads.

"Corythosaurus," Greg whispered. "this is going to be easy."

Greg had read that these particular dinosaurs were harmless, like cows. Although the Corythosaurus were large, they were plant-eaters, and they had the docile, slightly stupid manner just like cows.

But still, he didn't want to take any chances. Greg didn't like animals. He thought of animals as filthy beasts that enjoyed taking a crap anywhere they liked and didn't care who stepped in it.

The job of retrieving the eggs was meant for the three kids.

"Alright, guys," he said to the three of them. "one of you will have to get the eggs from the nearest nest and bring it back here."

Eddie looked incredulously at Greg, as if the skinny weasel was asking one of them to jump off a bridge before him.

"You don't want do it yourself?" Hector said just as sceptical. "this was your idea!"

"Hey... hey.. c'mon," said Greg, trying to sound assertive. "you guys work for me. That means I call the shots around here, got it?"

Rita rolled her eyes annoyingly. This guy was as useful to them as a thorn in the side. They could all sense the jumpiness in the guy's voice.

Hector said, "Listen, Greg, you may have hired us, but that does not mean you can order us around."

Eddie added, "He's right, you know? Why don't you get an egg from the nests yourself? After all, this was your idea to come here."

Greg looked uncertainly at the threesome and then back at the Corythosaurus herd. Fine. If that was what they wanted, then he would be the first to get an egg. 'but when this is over, you'll only get half of what I'll be receiving, you little punks!'

"Alright, I will," Greg said, getting fed up. "But you three gotta do the other nests when I'm done getting an egg from this one."

Eddie and the others rolled their eyes in annoyance as Greg stepped out into the nesting area. He expected a big reaction when the dinosaurs saw him, but there was none at all. They hardly seemed to notice him, even in the dark. One or two adults looked over, stared with dumb eyes, and then looked away. The animals continued to drop grass on their eggs, which were pale white, oval, and nearly two feet long. Each was about twice the size of an Emu egg. About the size of a small soccer ball. No babies had hatched yet.

"Good for me," Greg said to himself and made his way toward the nearest nest.

The mother of the nest was busy gathering grass and bits of frond leafs, her hindquarters turned in Greg's direction. If he got close enough, he would be able to get an egg out of the nest and back to the jeep and then onto the next nest after that.

Slowly, Greg crept up from behind the dinosaur. It still didn't seem to notice him at all. Then the mother Corythosaur's tail stiffened and the animal let lose a yellowish stream of urine, spattering on the ground below. Greg jumped back with a yelp of disgust, avoiding the stream. From the bushes the three teens chuckled at Greg almost getting peed on. Greg gave them an irritated look and turned back to the dinosaur, waiting for it to finish. He looked down at his shoes to make sure he wasn't hit by the stuff.

'Disgusting animals!' Greg seethed, shaking his foot. 'I'm sick to think we breath the same air!'

Having enough of this, Greg rushed forward and snatched an egg from the nest while the mother was preoccupied with getting more fronds. He quickly dashed back to the others, the egg in his arms. None of the dinosaurs reacted to the theft. Not even the mother.

"That's how you do it!" Greg exclaimed to the three teens, panting a bit. "Now, let's get back to the jeep and onto our next nest."

As the group left the nesting grounds, Eddie stared back at the Corythosaurs. Now that they had one egg it was only a matter of time before they collected six others. But Eddie felt that this was wrong. Taking eggs from their mothers just for money.

'It's too late to to change your mind,' Eddie thought to himself. 'if you want to show Eric up in high-school when you get back to Oklahoma, then sacrifices have to be made to do it. Besides, it's not as if the animal will miss a couple of its eggs missing or anything.'

With that, Eddie turned and followed after his group.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

 **The Trespassers ruination**

:

By 4:56 the scavengers had collected six eggs from individual nests on the outer-rim of the island's roads.

Each member took turns getting an egg from a nest and then placing it into the cooler. Once every egg was collected, the team would head back to the rendezvous point at the dock.

There was just one more nest to collect from.

Greg drove the jeep down the road toward the coast where another road that led inland was located. One last nest and then they were out of here.

In the passenger's seat, Eddie looked to his left and thought he saw the outline of a rubber raft on the beach. Though it could have been anything.

Rita noticed that it was beginning to get light now. The jungle was becoming less dark every minute and Greg could see the jungle's trail now.

They had arrived to another open field that had two more trails that they could follow. Greg adjusted his glasses and turned on his portable tracking devise to check if they were close to any nests. There was a nest close by and Greg could see that it was a Triceratops nest. This would be the last nest on his list. All he needed was for one of the teenagers to fetch one egg from the nest, put in the cooler, and then they would be home free.

"This will be our last nest, everyone." said Greg. "After this, we go home!"

He drove the jeep slowly down the trail toward a large pond where an entire herd of Triceratops had made their nesting area. Greg parked the jeep next to a large brush just outside the pond. The sound of the engine would startle the animals into attacking them and Greg knew he had to play it safe.

The dinosaurs were impressive. The sun had just about come up through the dense trees above to shine on the animal's horns. Their scaly hides bore large blotches and stripes. From his seat, Eddie could see that the colors on the dinosaurs were a pattern of tan and dark green.

Greg turned to the group to fill them in on what the plan was for the Triceratops nest.

"First," He said very quietly, "don't make any sort of noise. This will be a simple snatch and grab. Eddie, you can get the last egg from the nest. But don't spook them when you approach. They're asleep now so getting an egg will be easy."

"Got it," said Eddie, getting out of the jeep.

"And remember," Greg continued, "these things have babies with them. If you do any thing to scare them, we're screwed."

Nodding, Eddie made his way toward the animals, quietly. The nearest nest was right beside the pond's bank. The only downside was that a triceratops parent was facing it's nest. The large dinosaur was still asleep and Eddie knew that this was now or never. Slowly, he tiptoed toward the nest.

To Eddie, the adult Triceratops were huge-the size of an army tank. And the horns themselves were very lethal looking.

Swallowing hard, Eddie carefully reached out and plucked an egg from the nest. The egg itself was a little heavy, but Eddie secured it in his arms none the less. The adult dinosaur didn't even stir in it's sleep. It snorted and then rolled onto it's side, it's huge bulk of a body not showing any signs of waking up. The other Triceratops were still asleep, too.

Knowing he was home free, Eddie made his way over to the others in the jeep. He placed the egg into the cooler among the other six eggs and climbed into the drivers seat. Greg started the engine...but the damned thing made such a loud noise when the I.N.G.E.N employee had turned the ignition on, that the very sound cut through the air like a gunshot.

That was enough to make the herd of Triceratops wake up in a hurry.

"Shit!" hissed Greg. "I should have let the engine cool down first!"

The adult Triceratops all stood up, fully awake and pissed. How dare these intruders trespass on their nesting grounds?!

"Get us out of here!" cried Rita. "Get us out of here now!"

Greg fumbled with the steering wheel and hurriedly turned the jeep in the direction of the trail they had come in. The herd of Triceratops were charging across the pond, their angry bellows filling the air.

Greg gunned the jeep up the trail, the tires splashing in the loose dirt. In the backseat, Hector and Rita looked behind them to see if the herd was following them. At first, there was only two of the angry animals on the trial after them. But the jeep's speed up the road had been too much for the large animals to keep up. With a final defiant roar, the two Triceratops turned and headed back to their nesting grounds with the others.

Greg slowed the jeep down and then finally stopped. The whole thing had been scary but the man had kept his cool and had gotten his 'team' out of there. Not only that but he finally had the last egg. Now it was time to head back to the rendezvous point at the docks.

 **Joisah's POV-**

The sound of an engine backfiring awoke me. I knew it was an engine. Not some crazy dream. There was another jeep on this island which meant more people were here, too.

I got out of my sleeping bag and left the attic. Climbing down the stairs, I fumbled for my jeep's keys. I found them and put them in my pocket. Then after that, I checked my digital watch to see what time it was. It was 5:32 in the morning. Damn it! Who the hell would be stupid enough to come here, aside from me, to this island at this time of night?

I sighed and removed the blockade from the door and went outside. After closing the door behind me I made my way over to the garage. The sun had just about risen over the mountains but it was still a little dark out. I guess the sun here rises a bit differently then back at home.

Climbing into the drivers seat, I started the jeep and drove out of the worker village. The sound where I had heard the backfire of the engine must have been near the old fisherman's wharf. Whoever it was, I had to see if they needed help off the island.

When I reached the open field, I saw that a jeep had been through here. There was a dust trail from a vehicle that led...toward a game trail. I knew of only four roads that led to safety and danger. The road I was on now led to the worker village, but the trail was narrow with branches on either side that made it look like you were driving into a dense forest. The road to the fisherman's docks was on the far side of the field. Straight ahead was a small sign that was in Spanish. The two remaining roads led to trails that I knew were dangerous. One led to a Triceratops herd that made it's nesting grounds at a pond. And the other led to...Oh, no.

That trail led to Spitter territory. Tholestes had told me about it when he had visited me at the church a while back. He said that the Spitters were dangerous because of their ability to spit blinding venom at their prey. I knew what dinosaur he was talking about. Dilophosaurus. I had only read about them in Grant's book but knew enough about them to know they were dangerous.

If that jeep went down that road into their territory...

I drove over to the entrance to the trail and stopped there. I got out and felt the cool morning air. But I had no time to enjoy it. I was right. The jeep did go this way. I went to the back of my jeep and took out my rifle and gas grenades. The animals were probably aware that their dominion had unwanted visitors in it by now.

And then from somewhere down the dark trail, I heard a scream. A familiar scream, that is. It sounded female. Almost like...

no, it couldn't be!

I took off down the trail at a run and into the Spitter's territory.

 **Scavengers-**

Rita had screamed because right in front of her and the rest of the group in the jeep was a steep embankment, which they were speeding right toward!

What happened was that Greg had panicked when one of the angry Triceratops had doubled-backed and had charged them from the side of the jungle near the edge of the open field.

The animal had rushed them just before they could head to the docks. Greg had let out a startled cry and had steered the jeep wildly onto another path to escape the Triceratops. The jeep sped away from the dinosaur but Greg, still in a panic, had taken the wrong road! And now he was heading toward an embankment and was going to crash!

"Stop! Stop the jeep!" yelled Hector, griping his seat. "your gonna' kill us!"

"SHUT UP!" shouted Greg, stepping on the breaks.

The jeep's tires tried to get a grip on the muddy road but since the vehicle was not in four-wheel drive the traction caused it to skid.

SCREEEEECH!

Eddie and his group braced themselves for the impact. There was a jolting strike and then the jeep halted with a bone-gearing _**ker-crash**_! Mud and water flew up at the windshield and splattered on the windows.

When it was all over, Greg shook his head, opened the door, and stepped out of the jeep.

The others did the same. Eddie and Rita looked around at where they were. The bottom of the embankment led to more jungle but they could see that two other paths went left and right.

The forest around them was dark and haunting. And somewhere in the jungle beyond they could hear an eerie trilling-hooting sound, like a bunch of owls calling.

Eddie turned to Greg, pissed. "Now look what you did, smart guy! We're stuck now!"

Greg turned to him, equally pissed. "It wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for your fat friend stupidly yelling at me in the backseat!"

Rita snapped at Greg, "Don't you call Hector stupid, you scrawny excuse for a..."

"Enough!" shouted Eddie, making his way over to the both of them. "We don't have time for this. The contact is going to be at the docks within two hours. We've already wasted enough time getting the last egg. Now let's get out of here."

"We can not walk to the dock," Said Rita, pointing to the jungle to empathizes her point. "Not if we don't know where we are."

There came the soft hooting cry of another owl again. It sounded close. Of course, none of them took any notice.

"Look," said Eddie, trying to calm the tension. "let's just bring down the car. I'll stay up here with Hector and push from behind. Greg, your gonna' have to pull the winch line down the embankment and hitch it to a tree. Rita, you can turn on the winch and help us push the jeep."

Greg started to protest. "Hey, now wait a minute. You take orders from me, kid. I'm not climbing down that in my new leather shoes and getting them dirty!"

Eddie, having enough of this bullshit, stormed up to Greg and pointed his finger at him.

"Listen, you skinny-ass weasel! You got us into this damned mess, but we are not taking anymore orders from you. Once we get back to the mainland, you will pay us what we want for the eggs and then we're going home to Enid Oklahoma. We don't care if your new anything gets dirty. Now stop being a pussy and help us with this damned jeep!"

Greg, unable to argue back at the teenager, mumbled something under his breath and went over to the jeep's winch. He took the hook off the bar and and then made his way down the slippery mound. Once he was at the bottom, Greg made his forward to the nearest tree. The grass around him was tall and thick so getting through it was a hassle. He was not made for the outdoors at all.

He circled the tree with the cable and hook, tied it as best he could, anchoring the hook with the tied cable, and then made his way up the embankment again.

Hector and Eddie were behind the jeep, ready to push. Rita turned on the rotor that activated the winch engine. The jeep moved forward a bit but stopped when the back wheels caught on a fallen tree branch. Eddie and Hector then took that cue to start pushing. Rita joined them and together they pushed the jeep with everything they got.

Greg stood at the side, not helping in the process. He was too busy wiping the mud from his shoes and grumbling to himself.

Unknown to the group, several green eyes were watching them from bushes at the bottom of the embankment, their haunting hooting calls getting closer and closer.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

 **'Say it! Don't spray it!'**

:

 **Josiah's POV-**

I followed the jeep tracks down the trail, careful to make sure I kept my eyes open for any sign of a Dilophosaur that might be near by. The animals, according to the journal, were ambush predators that hunted in the evenings and at night. Their spit could hit a target at 20 feet, aiming right at the victims eyes. The venom could cause temporary blindness and disorientation. It was painful, but not lethal as long as you wash it out quickly or if you had safety goggles on.

I could hear the hooting calls but could not see the dinosaurs. I felt a little jumpy. Getting blinded by a Dilophosaur was not what I had in mind. And reasoning with one, even with my translator device, would be futile.

Then, from somewhere up ahead, I heard a bloodcurdling scream.

"Shit," I breathed.

I hurried down the path at a run now. I slowed my sprint to a jog and came to a stop at embankment. Looking down, I saw a jeep in the semi-darkness of the jungle in front of a tree. And standing below, in a tight circle, were the people that belonged to the vehicle.

And I instantly recognized who they were. It was Rita, Eddie, and Hector. My former friends from Enid Oklahoma.

And right now hey were in trouble.

A pack of Dilophosaurs had surrounded them. The dinosaurs were hissing and snarling at them. But worst of all was that their hooded frills were flaring and rattling. If any one of my friends got hit with venom...

I dug into my pouch and got a gas grenade. Taking off the pin, I flung the grenade toward the animals. A thick smokescreen spewed out of the grenade with a sharp hiss.

The dinosaurs were taken by surprise from the unexpected attack from nowhere. They let out confused squawks and scattered back into the jungle. The grenade's smoke started to ease up so that my friends could see and breath easier.

When it cleared, I made my way down the slope to join them.

"Hey, is everyone alright?"

All three of them looked up and saw me approach. Rita was the first to say something.

"Josiah, is that you?"

I nodded to my girlfriend.

"It's me, girl," and then I smiled.

Next thing I knew, Rita had her arms wrapped around me in a tight-loving embrace. I hugged her back, too. She was the same as when I'd last seen her in Enid. But she had changed considerably during that time. But there would be time for reminiscing later. I had to find out what in god's name was she, Eddie, and Hector doing here.

"Listen to me, guys," I said as urgently as possible. "I don't know how you got here but I can get us back to the worker village. It's a safe place where no predatory dinosaurs can harm us. It's safe there."

"Lead the way, Clover!" Hector said quickly.

"Yeah, I think I've had enough of this place," added Rita.

Eddie shook his head. "We've got to meet our contact at the docks. He'll be there in half an hour. We don't have a lot of time to waste. We have our own way out."

"Oh, yeah right," I said sarcastically. "and how are you guys going to do that? Your jeep is damaged, your weapons are pretty much useless against larger dinosaurs, and you'll be in the open on the docks next to a game trail that is used by carnivores."

Then I added, "How did you guys get here anyway?"

As if to answer my question, the door to their jeep opened and out stepped a tallish young man in his thirties. He wore a long-sleeved, blue button-up shirt, a grey vest with an INGEN identification card pinned to it, and dark blue office pants. His hair was blond and short which was slicked back with hair gel.

The guy adjusted his glasses and walked over to us, like he was trying to regain same command. I disliked him on sight.

"That would be me," He said. "the names Greg Ganwick. I'm the leader of this group and..."

I cut the guy off before he could say anything else.

"Look, I don't care if you're the leader, old man," I said coldly, folding my arms and glaring. "If you're the one who brought my friends here, that makes you responsible for almost getting them all killed. You were hiding in that jeep like a damned coward."

Greg stuttered, "But... I... I..."

"'But' nothing! you cowardly abandoned my friends to those dinosaurs just to save your own skin!"

All four of us glared at Greg. And the guy looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but here.

I shook my head in disgust and turned to Eddie.

"And what are you doing here anyway, Campbell? Aren't you suppose to be in Enid, inside some juvenile detention center somewhere?"

"I was," Eddie challenged, stepping forward. "but I got out on good behavior. As for why I'm here doesn't concern you. My team and I are just here because Greg here wanted us along, that's all."

That was lie. I knew Campbell when he and Eric were together back in Enid. I also knew for a fact that Eddie was responsible for giving information to thieves that lived outside of our neighborhood. My house was almost hit one night, had not been by dumb luck that I arrived home early from a prayer meeting with my mom.

The police arrested the thieves but those rat-bags didn't tell the cops who gave them information about how to break into our house or other people's houses in my neighborhood. But I had my suspensions on who it was.

It was only after Deputy Thompkin's car was trashed by the two that justice was served. Eddie went to juvie and the neighborhood got some of it's belongings back.

But now he was causing problems all over again! Here he was on Isla Sorna, with my girlfriend not doubt, and didn't know what he was doing.

I walked over to their jeep and looked in the backseat. On it was a cooler with it's lid open. And inside, in a row, were dinosaur eggs. I turned to Eddie and Greg, an angry glare in on my face. I couldn't believe these guys. How stupid could they've been?

"Dinosaur eggs. Did you guys steal dinosaur eggs?" I asked, begging the answer to be no but knowing it could be true.

Eddie gave a nearly imperceptible nod, refusing to look me in the eyes. "Now it all makes sense why you're here." I said to himself, closing the cooler's lid.

"look, Clover…" Eddie started, trying to defend himself. "if I'd known that you were on this island…" He trailed off. I couldn't help but wonder. I doubted his actions and the actions of the others would have been any different even if I wasn't here. "We took 'em because we needed the money. I thought they'd be worth a fortune once they were sold to Biosyn, enough to get use all through Waller Junior High school and college." he tried to explain.

I could understand where he was coming from, financial difficulties to get into college made people do crazy things. But stealing dinosaur eggs?

"Look, you have to believe us, Clover. This was a stupid decision, but we did it for our own intentions." Hector tried to defend Eddie, or at least defend himself.

What Hector just said made my blood boil. I turned furiously to him, Eddie, and even Rita and Greg.

"For your own intentions." I scoffed at them. "Some of the lowest things thinkable have been done for someone else's' own _intentions_." I kept my voice low and cold, but the effect was far worse than if I had been yelling. "Eddie, Hector, and Rita, as far as I'm concerned, you're no better than Peter Ludlow and his hunters from INGEN." I finished harshly.

Rita couldn't help but flinch at the cruelty of my words. I knew I didn't mean to say that, especially to her, but I was angry. Eddie had brought her here with Hector and this...this INGEN guy just to strip-mine the place to get filthy rich.

"Well, aren't you a hypocrite," Eddie said to me, folding his arms like a boss. "you're also on this island too, Clover. Illegally, if I might add, so don't get all high and mighty with us for being here for money."

I turned to Eddie, fists clenched. "Hey, I came here to watch and to survive on this island. you and the others just came here to strip-mine the place to get money. You have no right." then I added. "And we are ALL here illegally, if I might add."

Greg responded bluntly, "Illegal or not, those eggs are the property of INGEN and Biosyn. My company, that I represent, made these animals exist because we'd made them, we'd patented them, we _own_ them."

I let out an aggravated breathe. "Own them?! The dinosaurs on this island don't know the meaning of the word, you chia-head!"

That one almost made me laugh, but I regained myself.

This was no time to be laughing because I distinctively remembered where I was at the moment.

"Listen to me, you guys," I said. "I can get us all back to the worker village now before anymore Dilos show up. I don't know how long the gas is going to keep them disorientated."

I walked passed them and began to climb the embankment to the road where I had come in. Rita was the first to follow. Hector joined her to come with me a second later.

Only Eddie and Greg remained where they were on the bottom.

"You two coming or what?" I said to them impatiently.

"What about our contact?" Eddie said. "He's gonna' wonder where we are and if he doesn't see us at the docks with the eggs, he'll leave without us."

I ran a hand over my forehead. "You don't understand, Eddie. You've got to come with me. It's not safe out in the open on the docks."

"No, you don't understand," Greg said. "Your options are to go back to your worker village or let us go to the docks to wait for my contact to arrive."

"We don't have time, you idiot! Those dinosaurs are going to be back any minute. And I don't plan on being spat in the eyes by blinding venom!"

I turned and walked away, Rita and Hector right behind me. Looking back, I saw Eddie hesitate for a another minute until he started to climb the embankment to join us. Nodding, I continued to walk up the road. Greg didn't follow us. He stayed where he was at the bottom of the hill with his battered jeep. I didn't even bother turning around to see if he was following us.

I had made sure of that.

I patted my pocket were I had the jeep's keys. There was no chance in hell that INGEN creep was leaving this island with those eggs. If he wanted to live, then he would have to come with me.

Now all I had to do was to lead my friends back to my jeep and get them to the worker village where they'd be safe.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

 **A secret meeting**

 **:**

 **Tholeste's POV-**

I was on the move. I felt of vulnerable in the jungle not having any of my pack with me, but Kara had given me permission to see my old friend at the bluffs.

I had eaten, said goodbye to my family, and took off once the sun had risen over the trees. I paced myself as I moved with ease through the jungle, heading in the direction of the bluffs. The morning chill felt god on my scales. As good as the soft jungle floor beneath my talons, the exhilaration from the run, and that everyday rush of adrenaline.

But-paths through unfamiliar jungle often changed. I needed a nice, high vantage, so I went to the base of Mount Wyeth. The rise overlooked a small valley that had four paths that led to different parts of the jungle. I had to take the right path to the cliffs that was near Flyer Bluff.

I reached the rise in less then a few minutes and started ascending it. On top, there was another thing that had been left behind by the humans. It was a small structure that had turbines and metal staircases.

I really never gave the place much thought. To me it was just a building that humans had left behind to rot in the jungle.

Ignoring it, I made my way past the building and down toward the path to Flyer Bluff.

A minute later, I finally reached my destination. And waiting for me, standing beside a pair of tall rocks, was my old friend Steel Beak.

He was an elongated and slender flyer with a long, skinny body ending in a small tail. Right under his tail was a pair of thin legs with three clawed feet. His wings, arms, inside of his beak and legs were mostly a beige color with his belly and throat in a lighter shade of beige. His upper body was a shiny blue that made him stand out from the others in his flock. His beak and crest were a yellow color and along his beak were several old scars that he had gotten when he and his kind were kept in cadges by keepers.

Though he was almost as old as the long-neck matriarch of the lowlands, Steel Beak still had some youth left in him.

"Hello, my old friend," I greeted him with a soft chirp. "it's been a while, hasn't it?"

Steel Beak nodded to me and smiled. "Well, I wouldn't say that long, sickle claw. My flock and I have just returned from a successful flight around the island from our fishing grounds."

I nodded. "How was it?"

He sighed and shook his beak.

"Bor-ing. For most of my flock there was nothing but trees and rocks. All the old males ever did was nap and eat."

I stood in front of Steel Beak as we talked. He was a little bit taller then I was but not that much.

"Speaking of which, we need to make this meeting of ours short. We can't risk your flock finding out about us."

Steel Beak nodded in agreement.

"You're right, sickle claw. But first is there something you came here to tell me?"

"Yes. I'm not sure you heard yet, but you must know that there is a human on this island. And he staying at the abandoned human settlement."

Steel Beak squawked, "WHAT?!"

I could tell that Steel Beak couldn't have been more astounded to hear that the creatures of rumour not only existed, but also was living in one of the old settlements.

"That's impossible," Steel Beak found himself breathing out.

"Impossible yes, but it's still true and he's quite real," I maintained. "My pack couldn't believe their eyes either, but the rumors were true."

Steel Beak frowned. "But why is he here on our island? Doesn't he know that no human has ever survived here?"

I grinned. "Oh, he knows. That is why Alpha Kara has told the pack not to harm him. She believes that he can help us find out about our origins on how we were put on this island."

"How would he do that?" Steel Beak asked. "you know humans can't understand the language of the reptiles. I can't see how he'd be able to tell you or your pack anything if you told him anything."

I wrinkled my snout. "Oh, but he can understand us, my old friend. He has this human device on his ear that allows him to understand our language."

This intrigued Steel Beak. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yes. My grandfather, along with my sister and brother, think that was not possible either."

"Speaking of which, how is my old friend doing?" asked Steel Beak.

I sighed sadly and shook my head. "I'm afraid he's slipping. I wish I could spend more time with him... but these are troubled times. The black stripes are infesting the boundaries of our territory."

Steel Beak hissed at the very mention of my pack's enemy. "They breed too quickly while we grow soft. Even now they outnumber your pack ten to one. I've seen them hunt. But they kill, eat their fill, and then leave the rest of the carcass to rot. It's a waste of meat."

I snorted and growled. "And now they have the nerve to encroach onto our game trails and mark our territories!"

Steel Beak gave me a reassuring nudge with his beak. "It's going to be all rightt, sickle claw. You'll see."

I nuzzled Steel Beak and gave him a soft chirp. "Thank you, Steel Beak. I just hope my pack doesn't have to go to war with the black stripes. Most of our young males are not even ready to fight for our territory yet."

Steel Beak nodded and stood back. "Well, I have to be going now, young one. Give my regards to your grandfather for me. He might be old and tired... but he's done being scared."

I nodded, turned, and left the bluffs. In the sky I saw Steel Beak pass over me and join his flock in their afternoon hunt for food.

Not wanting to overstay my welcome, I left the bluffs behind me and re-entered the jungle.

It took me a while to find my pack's territory again but the sentries had marked the trails well.

After all that running around, it was time for me to take a little nap.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Jurassic Park titles, logos, merchandise, or any other materials that are related in any shape and/or form. I am only one of many of the biggest fans of Jurassic Park movies and games and love anything about dinosaurs. I do not wish to make any profit(nor expect any anyway).**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

 **Parting of ways**

 **:**

 **Josiah's POV-**

I drove my jeep fast up the road back toward the worker village. Rita sat next to me in the passenger seat while Eddie and Hector sat in the back.

I didn't say anything to the lot of them. I was too angry.

Eddie had brought Rita to this island just so he could get money for college. And poor Hector was weaseled in, too. The poor guy didn't deserve be here.

I turned a corner and arrived at the gate that led back into the worker village.

While the others took in the sights of the wrecked buildings and shops I drove up the road that would get me to the communications building. When we arrived, I got out and headed inside the building. Eddie and the others got out too and followed me.

I entered the radio room, sat down on the chair, and went to work to contact Enrique Pantaros at the mainland.

Eddie took that moment to try and speak with me.

"Look, Clover, you don't have to call the mainland or anything. Our contact will be here soon and..."

"Your contact and Greg are probably dead," I cut him off. "Out in the open, they will attract a lot of unwanted attention from carnivorous dinosaurs. If you want to share their fate, Eddie, be my guest. And while you're at it, smear yourself with a little sheep's blood. That will get you eaten quicker." I added the last one for emphases.

Eddie gulped and looked nervously around. Good. That will teach him not to bring Rita here. And it'll probably keep him quite as well.

I got Enrique on the radio and told him of the situation. He said he might be able to get there within four hours. That was if the Costa Rican patrol boats didn't catch him first. In the meantime, there was nothing to do but wait for him to come and pick up my friends.

"Now that we're all here," I said, addressing the group. "Let's get down to business, you three. You guys have already demonstrated that you do not have what it takes to handle this island. You guys nearly got killed by those Dilophosaurs no thanks to that idiot from INGEN, and I had to bail you out."

Eddie, Hector, and Rita all looked at each other and lowered their in complete ignominy.

"My contact from the mainland will take you off the island, but I will not be joining you."

Rita looked up in surprise. "Why?"

"Because," I explained, standing up. "I need to survive here on Sorna for at least nine week. If Eric was able to do it, then so can I."

Hector said quietly, "You're staying here for nine weeks?"

I turned to him and nodded. "That's right. I'm going to outdo that Kirby kid and survive on this island for nine whole weeks. I can do it, guys."

"You can't be serious!" stated Rita. "you'd never survive here alone. What if you get eaten by dinosaurs, or worse?"

"I'll manage, girl," I replied. "you know how resilient I am. Besides, the worker village here doesn't have a lot of predators lurking around and I have weapons to help protect myself."

"But don't you want to come back with us?" she asked, her eyes sad and desperate.

"Of course I do," I said, gently placing my hand on her shoulder. "But I need to get you guys off this island. It's dangerous here and you don't know how to survive in the wilderness like I can."

"Oh, I get it." Eddie sneered. "Since you can survive here on this island with your skills, does that make us completely useless?"

I turned to Eddie and sneered back, "You're the one who's useless, Eddie Campbell. You and Eric were both responsible for trashing that deputy's car that night. I heard about it all in the neighborhood and from Eric's mother. Your dad sent you off to juvenile hall the moment the cops dropped you off at your house. You and Eric were as clumsy as you were stupid."

Eddie took a step forward, his face turning red. Rita and Hector looked back and forth at both of us, unsure what to say or what to do.

 _"Who do you think you are?!"_ Eddie growled venomously, spit flying. "you think you got me all figured out just because you heard what me and Eric did?"

"Oh, I know more then that, Eddie," I countered coldly. I was getting really irritated by this guy and now it was time to hit him where it hurt. "I know for a fact that you and Eric were watching houses in my neighborhood. It was not because you two were playing or hiding. You were watching those homes and selling out information to thieves so that they could break into the houses and rob them when the owners left."

At this, Eddie's face fell slightly. But he didn't lose his composure. "So what?" He replied bluntly as he shrugged. "So what if I was doing that stuff? Whats it to you anyway?"

My fist flew. The punch struck Eddie hard in the face. He grunted and tumbled backward and fell against the desk. Rita let out a small scream and Hector backed away from me. I stormed over to Eddie, grabbed him by the front of his shirt and shouted in his face. "My house was almost robbed because of you, you craven son of a bitch!"

Eddie looked at me, fear etched on his face as I continued to shout, spit flying. "You sold information to thieves outside our neighborhood and my house was almost robbed! If it hadn't been by dumb luck that my mom and I had gotten home early, who knows what could have gone missing! The cops may have not have known about that last little bit of information before you went to juvenile hall, but I do." I shoved him away from me and stood on the spot over him. I saw blood oozing down his mouth and from his nose.

"For money you did that! That's a selfish reason for me to see!"

Eddie got up slowly and wiped the blood from his nose and lip with the back of his hand. It took me a few deep breathes to calm my head, as I continued.

"You put Rita and Hector's lives at risk by bringing them here, Eddie. If anything happens to them it will be your fault. And there will be no way for you to weasel out of it."

Eddie looked down with a saddened look as his lip started puffing slightly. I watched him with a stone face, not flinching or giving him an inch.

"We'll wait here until I get a radio call from Enrique," I said. "Then I'm driving you all to the beach where I stashed my rubber boat on the shore. You can take it to Enrique's boat from there. he won't come any closer to the island or stick around for much longer then he needs to. Is that understood?"

Both Rita and Hector nodded their heads in understanding. Eddie simply gave a slight nod while wiping more blood from his lip. I glared at him and sat back down on the chair to work on cleaning the place.

Hector and Rita didn't know what else to do so they decided to sit on some of the chairs to wait. Eddie stayed where he was.

My anger toward him was understandable, but still I shouldn't have punched him. But he deserved it. My home was almost broken into by the thieves that Eddie had given information to. Most of the neighborhood had lost some of their valuables during the weeks in Enid because of that.

It was only after Eric Kirby's book came out that I finally knew who was behind and who was responsible for the thieves breaking into houses.

Rita got off her chair and came over to me.

"Josiah, are you alright?"

I turned to her and smiled weakly. "Yeah, girl, I'll be fine. It's just that Eddie and you and Hector being here...I don't know."

Rita placed her hand on my shoulder reassuringly. "Hey, it's going to be alright. And don't worry about Eddie. Once we get back to Enid I'll tell the officers down at the police station what Eddie had done. I still can't believe that he was selling information to guys in the neighborhood. All those houses robbed. And Eric was in on it, too."

I shook my head. "No, Eric didn't know about it. I read in his book that he and Eddie watched houses at night with camouflaged clothes and stuff. He thought that the two of them were just playing spy or something. He didn't realize that the houses were being set-up for robbery."

I sighed and scratched my scalp. "His mother, Amanda, came to his aid when they both had trashed that deputy's car. According to Mrs Kirby, her son was just passing along when that had happened."

Rita decided to change the subject.

"So, are you really going to stay here on the island for nine weeks?"

I looked up at her and nodded. "just those nine weeks and I'll be back on the mainland. And could you do me a big favor, Rita?"

"Sure...what do you want me to do?" Asked Rita.

I stood up in my chair and said, "I want you and Hector to promise me that you won't tell anyone on the mainland where I am. I don't want any over-caffeinated US embassy rat-thinks with trigger happy army guys coming here and shooting up the place looking for me to rescue, okay?"

Rita nodded.

"And another thing," I added, pointing to Eddie. "Make sure the authorities in Enid Oklahoma hear about Eddie and his passing information to thieves bit. I'm sure the cops at the station would be very interested."

She nodded. "Consider it done. I was going to do that anyway"

I smiled and went over to Hector, who was busying himself with cleaning up some of the vines that were coiled around one of the computer monitors.

"How are you doing, Hector?" I asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, to tell you the truth, Clover, this whole thing about you being on the island... aren't you scared?"

"A little, Hector," I admitted. "But I'm doing well so far. I just need those nine weeks here alone and then I'll get back to the mainland so... "

My words were cut short when I heard a growl. It was coming from outside the communications room. The room fell silent. Nobody made a sound.

I turned toward the door and froze. A raptor stood just outside the door frame. And the worst part was that it was not a raptor I knew.

It was a black patterned raptor. A black Stripe.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

 **Hellos and Goodbyes**

:

 **Josiah's POV-**

The raptor stood only a foot from outside the door as my eyes widened in fear and adrenaline. Hector saw the raptor as well and shouted out.

That was all the dinosaur needed. It let out a shriek and jumped, right toward Eddie. But the raptor hadn't counted on Rita being behind the opened door.

Rita instantly launched herself from where she was standing and slammed into the door, closing it shut. The door shuddered as the raptor slammed into it.

"There's no lock!" Rita shouted. "Where's the lock?!"

"There is none!" I shouted back. "Guys, help us hold the door!" I rushed over and pushed myself against it to hold the dinosaur back. Eddie and Hector placed themselves against it as well.

We stood there for a while, our bodies locked firmly in place. we heard the barking and hissing outside the door, but the raptor wasn't pushing against the door. It was slamming against it. During each pause the dinosaur would hiss and then ram into the door, denting it inwards.

"We gotta' do something!" Hector shouted. "Wheres your rifle?"

I turned to him and then back at the desk where I had left it. There was no way I could reach it from here.

Just then there was another raptor screech. This one was different. It sounded like... Tholestes.

 **Tholestes POV-**

The nap that I was having had been ruined. It had been short but sweet. Now there was a black striped raptor in my pack's territory to deal with. This was going to be a long day.

I stood inside the hallway of the building where the scent of the black stripe and Josiah was. And also there were three other smells, too. I didn't know who they belonged to but I could worry about that later.

I followed the sound of the black stripe and soon came upon it. The dinosaur was trying to get into a room. But the door was closed firmly in it's face and I could hear voices on the other side. It sounded like Josiah and it sounded like he wasn't alone. There were other humans in the room with him. What were more humans doing here on the island? I had no time to think about that. Josiah was in trouble.

"What do you think you're doing in here, black stripe?!" I barked, raising my neck quills in a threatening gesture.

The raptor stopped what it was doing, turned, and faced me. From the light of the hallway I could tell that the raptor was... female. A black striped female raptor. I lowered my neck quills a little but kept my threatening stance.

"I won't ask again. Who are you and what are you doing in my pack's territory?"

The female black stripe's body was mostly a dull brown and grey dappled, with a faint striping with a paler brown underbelly. Her eyes were yellow with black slits and looked fierce with intelligence.

"What pack are you from?" She quickly growled questioningly, taking on a threatening stance, her killing claws raised and her teeth bared.

"I'm asking the questions here, black stripe!" I hissed at her. "Now who are you?"

"My name is Pava, pack member to the Tall Grass pride. And those humans inside that room are my prey."

I let the name roll around in my head for a brief moment before I forced myself not to get distracted.

"Well, my name his Tholestes, pack member and scout to the northern Forest Pack. And one of those humans in that room are my pack's prey and apart of our territory. I don't know about the other humans that are in there with him."

Pava calmed herself a little. "You are of the Forest Pack?" She asked, tilting her head.

I nodded. "Yes. And I suggest that you leave before I call the rest of my pack and their fangs find you. You are trespassing on a scented part of the Forest Pack's territory. You must leave."

Pava hissed at me but did not attack. I just hoped my bluff worked.

"But those other humans..."

"Are my pack's prey now," I cut her off, growling. "Now I won't tell you again. Leave this place right now!"

Pava narrowed her eyes at me. "Beware, little Forest rat, I will be watching you." she chuckled a hiss as she left the door alone and walked passed me to leave.

As she passed, her tail gently brushed against the sides of my neck, flank, and haunches. When she had done that I felt a tingle in the back of my neck. Something deep and buried inside of me arose and I felt a little strange as if something buried in my mind wanted me to be nearer to her. I turned around to make sure she was gone and saw her pause near the doors that led out of the building. She had a seductive smirk on her face and I couldn't help but feel that same tingle again. And then with a flick of her tail she was gone.

I shook my head to clear my mind of that female jungle trash. _'Females!'_ I thought with slight revulsion. _'They get under my scales.'_

After she was gone I went over to the door where Josiah and the rest of his human pack mates were. Of course, the door was closed, so I made the same barking chirping sounds for him to know it was me and not Pava. The door opened a crack and Josiah's face appeared.

 **Josiah's POV-**

I opened the door slightly to see if it really was Tholestes out there. It was him.

"Tholestes, thank god it's you." I breathed with relief. "Thanks for coming to the rescue."

"No problem, human," He said. "If I lose you, Alpha Kara will have my hide."

I chucked a little at this. "Yes, well, anyway, my friends are here on the island. But don't worry." I added hastily after seeing Tholestes look of surprise and slight botheration. "They won't be staying long."

I adjusted my translator device on my ears so that Tholestes raptor language was more audible.

"Well," Said Tholestes, shaking his head. "That's all very good and all. But there are more humans on the island. And you know how Phaganax feels about humans on the island."

I didn't have time to discuss this now. My friends in the room were still a bit nervous and frightened. And if they saw Tholestes just walk right into the room with me...

"Look," I said to him seriously. "My friends are kind of on edge right now after that other raptor attacked us, Tholestes. I need you to back away a little from the door so that I can get the others better acquainted with you and reassure them that you won't hurt them. Okay?"

Tholestes gave me a raptor-like sigh and nodded his head. "Very well, Josiah, I'll do it. But we need to hurry." he backed away from the door and stood a few feet from it so that I could inform my friends about him.

I closed the door and turned back to the group. They all had confused looks on their faces.

"Guys, it's alright. That raptor outside the door won't hurt you," I then added, "He happens to be a friend of mine."

"Are you insane?" Eddie exclaimed. The rush of adrenaline gave him a little more strength and he was able to sit up from the desk that he was leaning on. "Have you lost your mind?"

"No, Eddie, I haven't." I replied. "He's saved me a few times from the larger dinosaurs on the island and I saved him. I think we can trust him."

"Are you sure, Clover?" Said Rita nervously, while eyeing the door. "I mean, he is a raptor. Don't you remember Malcolm's book about these guys?"

I nodded to her and smiled reassuringly. "I remember that book but it was all chaos and stuff. This raptor won't hurt us. Now, I'm opening the door to let him in so that he can get to know all of you. And please refrain from screaming and shit." I added to Eddie who looked white in the face with fear. The sudden adrenaline was gone from his system. Hector didn't look all to good either. Rita, on the other hand, stayed by my side. She looked apprehensively at the door and then back at me. I knew she was scared of the prospect of meeting a raptor up close but I would protect her no matter what. And just in case Eddie tried anything, I went over to the desk to retrieve my rifle.

I went back to the door and opened it and Tholestes slowly entered the room. Rita stayed close to me while Eddie and Hector shifted uneasily. Tholestes kept his head low in hopes that they would not see him as a threat. He continued to approach and stopped only two meters in front of us. He tilted and angled his head to examine my friends. After he was satisfied, he turned to me.

"So, are these your pack mates?" he asked, nodding his head to each of my friends.

I nodded. "They are, Tholestes."

"Er... Josiah, what are you doing?" said Rita.

I turned to her and smiled. "He wants to know if you guys are my pack or not. And I said yes."

"You mean you can understand him?" said Hector. "you can understand his language?"

"That's right, Hector. And it's all thanks to this." I pointed at both my ears to show him my translator device. "This translator device in each of my ears allows me to understand dinosaurs here on this island."

"But that's not possible, Clover," said Eddie with a snort. "No electronic device on earth can transmit animal sounds into words."

I gave him a cold look. "That just shows how little you know, Campbell."

Eddie gave me a glare and wanted to say something but decided not to, on account of Tholestes still in the room with us. _Better luck next time, bozo._

Rita then got the courage to try and pet Tholestes. She came out from behind me and cautiously approached the raptor.

Tholestes turned to face her. I could tell that he could probably smell the nervousness that she now had. Slowly he approached her, ignoring the looks of fear that Eddie and Hector had at him. I saw that Rita was starting to sweat heavily with Tholestes' head only inches from her hand.

"Don't be scared," Tholestes said in an nonthreatening growl.

Rita pulled her hand back a little. "Is he going to bite my hand off or something?"

I chuckled and said, "No, no, Rita. He won't. He just said that you don't have to be scared of him."

Rita turned to me and then back at Tholestes, who stood there with his head tilted. Reaching out, she allowed her fingers to make contact with Tholestes scaly muzzle. The raptor let out a soft purr from his throat, enjoying it. It had been a risky act; one of supreme trust, and both parties would recognize what had passed for what a affecting thing it really was.

"See, it's not so bad now, is it?" I said with a smile.

"Actually, no. It feels nice," Rita calmly smiled, petting Tholestes along his neck and head.

The raptor purred deeply as he felt her hands rub him. I smiled at this little scene that was unfolding before me and I thought back to what Dr Grant had said about Raptors. _"Genetically engineered theme park monsters, nothing more and nothing less."_ That's what he had said about them. But how could he? Tholestes here was not was acting like a monster from a theme park at all.

To me, there was more to these raptors then Grant thought. And when I got back to the mainland and showed people the footage of these animals, they would be convinced that the raptors and other animals here weren't monsters.

"Alright, everyone," I said, turning to the door to leave. "I think it would be best if we left now."

Eddie and Hector followed me out the door while Rita and Tholestes followed behind them.

The trip back to the beach was uneventful. We didn't take the jeep because I didn't want to waste gas. And other predators were lurking around any of the trails we were traveling on. It was either by dumb luck or it was because we had Tholestes with us.

While we walked, Hector fell in line with me to talk.

"How much of this island have you seen?"

I turned to him and thought for a moment. "Well, not very much, Hector. I usually stay pretty close to the worker village and church. I figured since this island is going to be my home for the next few weeks, I can make the village my base of operations for what I'm going to do."

"What are you going to do?" Hector asked.

"Well," I breathed, checking my rifle. "I want to make a living fossil record of these animals alive and living in their natural habitats on the island. People on the mainland and the UN think this island can't be controlled. And they're right. This island is far too dangerous to be controlled by anyone. But if I bring back solid evidence that these dinosaurs are thriving on this island, scientists and paleontologists will see first-hand that life has found a way."

Hector smiled and I smiled back. It felt great to use that famous quote from John Hammond. And in a way I felt that John himself would feel the same.

"And so," I continued, "I found a way to document the dinosaurs safely without getting eaten. With my jeep, camera, and rifle here, I have all I need to survive and document to make the most spectacular living fossil record the world has ever seen."

At that moment Rita came over to walk next to me.

"Public opinion is the only thing that can preserve Site B now, right?" She asked, adjusting her hat and backpack.

I nodded to her. "That's right, girl, and I need to show the dinosaurs in their natural habitat to stir up emotional support for keeping this island pristine and safe."

"But what other proof do you need?" said Hector. "The Tyrannosaur attack in San Diego and Hammond's announcement on TV..."

"Are not enough, Hector." I said, turning to him. "This is my chance to contribute something of real value. Nobody on Earth has the guts to do what I'm about to do. I'll survive on this island and document everything I see with my camera."

Eddie took this moment to also say, "Yeah, but didn't Hammond also say on TV that the dinosaurs here need our absence, not our help?"

I wouldn't meet Eddie's gaze. I was still not happy with him. Even Rita and Hector sensed my anger toward their friend.

"That is none of your business, boy," I retorted, not looking at him but focusing on the trail to the beach. "I'm not 'helping' them, okay? I'm helping people in the real world realize that these dinosaurs are not theme park monsters. And it means more to me then money. Unlike you."

I let the last words hit him with an accusing cold ire. I sensed that Eddie had stopped momentarily on the trial and had fallen back a bit behind us. My words must have stung him good. I didn't care.

"Can't you give him a break?" Rita asked me quietly. "I know what he did back in Enid was wrong and everything, but..."

"No," I said levelly. "If he just took responsibility for what he had done in Enid, then I'd forgive him. But he's still acting like it was a victimless crime."

We walked on without another word. Eddie lagged behind a bit but decided to stay close because Tholestes was still following us. I guess he didn't want to be in the back with a Raptor.

We reached the beach and I went over to where I had the raft stashed. In the distance I spotted the familiar dark outline of Enrique's boat. He was right on time.

"Alright, everyone," I said, pulling the raft into the water. "climb in and head toward that boat over there." I pointed in the direction of the boat. "Enrique will take you all back to the mainland once you reach him."

Eddie and Hector climbed in and sat themselves down on the rubber seats. Rita stayed on the beach with me to say goodbye. A proper goodbye.

I didn't know what to say to her that would sound good enough. I faced her, gathering my courage to say what I wanted before I returned to the village with Tholestes.

Rita cleared her throat. "Look, Clover, don't get all mushy on me," she said. "You and I don't have time for a long goodbye."

"I was just going to say..." I took a deep breath and held her hands and in mines. "Be careful on your way back home, girl. And tell my mother that I'm going to be alright, but not about me being here on the island. I don't want her to panic. Also, you owe me a rematch on the Paint-Ball field."

Rita's eyes softened.

"Well then, Clover, you'd better hurry back," she said, leaning forward. "'Cause I'll be practicing." She then kissed me on the lips.

I didn't pull away from her. I knew this would probably be the last time I would ever see again. Providing I'd last that long here on the island.

The kiss lasted about three seconds.

Rita pulled away from me. She looked sad. I could see tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"No tears, girl," I said, rubbing her cheek gently. "we'll see each other again. I promise."

Rita hugged me, stepped away, and got into the raft with Eddie and Hector, who had started the motor. Hector eased the small craft into the surf and sped away toward Enrique's boat. I saw Rita turn back to have one last look at me. I waved at her and she waved back.

I watched their boat grow smaller and smaller until it to was a small black outline in the ocean. I turned back to Tholestes. He motioned for me to follow him back into the jungle. I nodded, then turned and followed him. I knew that my adventures here on the island was just beginning. This place was cruel sometimes, but it gave me a chance to show the world that humans and dinosaurs alike could share this island together. Eric was living proof. And so was I. Only he didn't have a Raptor for a friend to help him. I did. And my survival here on Isla Sorna was going to one to remember.

 _ **End of Part 1**_

* * *

 _ **The story has now been re-uploaded.. thank god!**_


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